The performance center for Boston Legacy FC is privately funded and should be ready for the start of the 2026 NWSL preseason.
BOSTON, MA — Boston Legacy FC, Boston's new NWSL team that'll debut in 2026, has announced plans to build at $27 million performance center in Brockton.
Good news for taxpayers: It's privately funded.
Team officials said this week that construction on the approximately 24-acre complex is scheduled to be ready for players by the start of the 2026 NWSL preseason. The team will play its inaugural season at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
Planned facilities include a 30,000 sq. ft. main building to house workout spaces, sports medicine, a film room, kitchen, hydrotherapy and staff offices. The complex will also house six total fields, including two grass fields. At least one field will be heated, and a bubble dome for inclement weather will also be on-site, as well as three turf fields with lighting.
When complete, several of the fields will be available for community youth soccer use, officials said.
The facilities included at the complex are part of the organization's plan to provide an "elite" player experience.
“NWSL is the most competitive league in the world, and our players need and deserve a training facility that enables them to be at their best,” said team controlling owner Jennifer Epstein. “We are proud to continue investing in not just our club, but in the overall growth of women’s sports, while also bringing further development to our community. We’re grateful to the city of Brockton and local elected officials for their partnership as we finalize this project.”
Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan has long been a supporter of the project, he said, calling it a "true win" for Brockton.
“It honors our rich sports legacy as the ‘City of Champions’ while creating new opportunities for our young soccer players with high-quality playing fields and inspiration for the future. I am deeply grateful to the Boston Legacy Football Club and Boston Unity Soccer Partners for their proposed investment in our community.”
As part of the city of Brockton’s processes, the club’s representatives have to date participated in a town hall presentation, to which the general public was invited to comment on the project, as well as a Brockton planning board meeting, also open to public comment.
Boston Legacy FC will be the 15th club to join the NWSL in 2026, with a new club in Denver rounding out the league's numbers to 16. The team has announced Filipa Patão as head coach.
Patão comes to the Boston Legacy from Portuguese club Benfica, where she has been head coach of the women’s senior team since 2020 and amassed a 156-28-15 W-L-D record over all competitions. In 2024, she was nominated for the Ballon d'Or's first Women's Coach of the Year award.
“I'm very excited about going to Boston. I can't wait to get to the city, meet all the people and start working,” said Patão. “The American league is extremely competitive and that's one of the reasons I accepted this project: I like competition, difficulty, and getting the players to strive for more and better. To transform themselves and always demand more of themselves. I know that Boston fans are passionate about the city and their teams and I'm looking forward to building a new history with them.”
The team has already announced two player signings, including the league's first player from Mali, Aïssata Traoré, and American midfielder Annie Karich.
Boston also received a major boost this week when they announced that WNBA star Aliyah Boston joined the team's investor group.
The NCAA champion and WNBA All-Star is a Worcester Academy graduate and claims the school's only retired jersey.
“I’m proud to join the ownership group of the Boston Legacy,” said Boston. “This city helped raise me, and the support I felt here shaped so much of who I am. I couldn't be more excited to have the opportunity to invest into a franchise that's building something special for its players, for the city, and for women’s sports as a whole.”