An investor group that includes the developer of a major local athletic complex, Mohegan Sun, and the original developer selected to overhaul Hartford’s Dillon Stadium has submitted a bid to launch a women’s pro soccer team in Windsor.
The group submitted a bid in October in hopes of joining the nine-team National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the nation’s highest level of women’s pro soccer, which is expected to announce potential expansion teams sometime in May. It’s looking to begin play in 2020.
The franchise, branded as a New England team, would play its 12 annual home games on land owned by lead investor Mark Greenberg at 1001 Day Hill Road in Windsor. The site, known as Fastpitch Nation Park, debuted as the region’s largest softball facility on Saturday.
Other investors include Mohegan Sun Sports, led by Amber Cox, who would oversee daily operations; T.J. Clynch of Hartford-based project planning and design firm Civic Mind, which was chosen in 2013 to redevelop Hartford’s Dillon Stadium, but was terminated from that project, would serve as CEO; and former U.S. women’s soccer team player Kristine Lilly would serve as president. The group also includes Thom Meredith, a sports management executive with experience in soccer, football and Olympic games.
The team would add to Mohegan’s existing footprint in pro sports, as it already owns and operates the Connecticut Sun WNBA basketball franchise and the New England Black Wolves of the National Lacrosse League.
According to the proposal, the group is looking to build a minimum 7,000-seat stadium on the 120-acre, mixed-use land, which already includes 11 softball fields and 110,000-square-feet of retail space. Greenberg, who lost in elections for Connecticut’s 5th District Congressional seat and state comptroller, said he’s also opening a 127-room Holiday Inn Express hotel on site by spring 2021.
The cost of the project has not yet been determined, according to Clynch. It is not yet known whether the investor group will seek state funding. The Hartford Athletic, the newly minted division II pro soccer club set to play its home games at Dillon, received $10 million from the state to renovate the historic stadium on Huyshope Avenue.
While the group is expected to continue negotiations with the NWSL on Thursday, there is no exact timeline for when the league will decide which, if any, expansion teams to add. Clynch estimated the league is looking to add about three teams.
NWSL teams are currently located in Washington D.C., Florida, Chicago, Texas, Utah and Oregon. Many notable U.S. women’s national team players, including Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd, play in the league. The Boston Breakers soccer club ceased operations after the 2018 season.
“It doesn’t seem to be a competition for a slot, it seems more about a rolling process of who has good plans, and in which market,” Clynch said. “I know they are looking for an even number of clubs.”
The group would break ground on building the stadium as soon as the league awards its bid, with a construction period expected to last between a year to 16 months.
It has set plans to temporarily play its first games at New Britain’s Veterans Memorial Stadium until the Windsor stadium is completed.
In addition to Fastpitch Nation’s existing infrastructure on Day Hill Road, Clynch said the site is ideal given the town’s support of the franchise and the nearby corporate community. The complex is adjacent to Windsor’s Amazon distribution center and is located about 10 miles north of downtown Hartford.
“This is about capturing the New England corridor,” he said. “We’ve had great conversations with them for eight months now, so we feel like we have a good chance.”
