While the Columbus team doesn’t have a name or a crest just yet, it may have its colour palette. The team will be owned by Haslam Sports Group (HSG) — who also hold the operating rights for Major League Soccer‘s Columbus Crew — Nationwide and Drs. Christine and Pete Edwards. As such, graphics accompanying Tuesday’s announcement mainly used black and gold, the same colours the Crew uses.

HSG also owns the National Football League‘s Cleveland Browns and co-owns the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association.

“We are setting a new standard for what’s possible in women’s soccer, with a powerful signal of where women’s sports is headed. Columbus is that next chapter in the story. This is a city that has long been at the heart of American soccer, a community that understands the power of sport and the power of community.”

— Jennifer Berman, Commissioner, National Women’s Soccer League

The Columbus team will choose a name, colors and crest “with the input of passionate fans across Ohio” and will share ScottsMiracle-Gro Field with the Crew. The stadium has hosted three U.S. women’s national team games and will also be the site of a 2026 NWSL Challenge Cup match between Gotham FC and the Kansas City Current on Friday, June 26.

Along with Columbus, the NWSL announced in November 2025 that an expansion team in Atlanta will also take the field in 2028. It will be owned by Arthur M. Blank and operated by AMB Sports and Entertainment, putting it under the same umbrella as the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, MLS’s Atlanta United and Atlanta Drive Golf Club of The Golf League.

The NWSL’s two most recent expansion teams began play at the start of the 2026 season: Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC.