Expansion teams to make 2026 debuts in NFL stadiums

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NWSL expansion teams Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC will enjoy their franchise’s debuts in style.

The two newest NWSL teams will host their first outings at the homes of their NFL counterparts.

Boston and Denver will be the 15th and 16th members of the league, which has grown from just 10 clubs in 2021.

The Legacy will open the season on Saturday, March 14 at the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., while the Summit will make their home debut two weeks later on March 28 at the Denver Broncos’ Empower Field at Mile High.

The 2026 schedule has not been released, so opponents for Boston and Denver are unknown.

Gillette Stadium has a seating capacity of more than 65,000. The club will play the 2026 season in Foxborough and move to a renovated White Stadium in Boston in 2027. White Stadium was originally opened in 1949 and will have a seating capacity of 11,000.

The Summit will only play their opener at the Broncos’ field, then play the 2026 and 2027 seasons at Centennial Stadium in Centennial, Colo. The club is expected to move into a yet-to-be-named 14,500-seat stadium in the heart of Denver in 2028. It will be the second stadium to be built specifically for a NWSL team, following the Kansas City Current’s CPKC Stadium.

Empower Field at Mile High can seat 76,125 fans.

The attendance record for an NWSL game is 40,091, which occurred at Oracle Park, home of MLB’s San Francisco Giants, as Bay FC hosted the Washington Spirit on Aug. 23, 2025.

There is no expansion draft, so Boston and Denver must build their own rosters in time for the 2026 season. The NWSL eliminated all drafts (collegiate, expansion) before the 2025 seasons.

–Field Level Media