Angel City Football Club lapped its league competitors in both club valuation and revenue in its second season. Now, less than a week away from its season opener against the newly formed San Jose-based Bay Football Club, Angel City says it’s still in startup mode and continues raising capital.
The Los Angeles National Women’s Soccer League franchise sits well above its league counterparts with a valuation of $180 million, according to Sportico’s market value metrics published at the end of last year’s regular season. For comparison, the closest competitor, San Diego Wave, came in with a $90 million appraisal.
In October, the same sports industry data site reported Angel City was raising capital at valuations approaching $200 million.
Julie Uhrman, Angel City’s president and co-founder, didn’t deny the reports from the fall.
“We’re always fundraising,” Uhrman said. “We always want to take advantage of the increase in our value to bring in investment.”
Sitting in the club’s office courtyard in Santa Monica, Uhrman sported the team’s new Nike uniform unveiled last month, which marks the first coordinated kit launch for the NWSL.
This latest update signifies a league still molding its cohesive brand, one that secured the most lucrative media-rights contract in the history of women’s team sports at the end of last season.
The four-year, $240 million contract bringing games to Amazon Prime, CBS, ESPN and Scripps marks a major upgrade from the NWSL’s previous deal, which was worth just $1.5 million a year.
This is representative of the league’s accelerated trajectory of the past several years, and increased televised coverage of matches is part of Angel City’s ambitions to become the first women’s sports franchise valued at $1 billion.
“We are absolutely on pace,” Uhrman said.
Off-season investments in the club
Angel City’s investor roster includes around 100 stakeholders, with a roster of A-list celebrities such as Natalie…
Read the full article here
