Chelsea Clinton, Jenna Bush Hager among several new Washington Spirit investors
Spirit managing partner Steve Baldwin, along with co-owners Bill Lynch and Y. Michele Kang, will maintain most of the ownership stake.
Baldwin and Scurry said they did not want to comment. Attempts to reach Clinton, Hager and Dawes were not immediately successful.
Dawes, 44, is from Montgomery County and won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Scurry, 49, won two gold medals and anchored the 1999 squad that won the World Cup. She lives in Alexandria.
The Washington additions follow the North Carolina Courage’s announcement three weeks ago that tennis star Naomi Osaka had invested in the 2018-19 champions.
Last summer, Angel City FC, a 2022 expansion team in Los Angeles, unveiled an investment group that included actresses Natalie Portman, Jennifer Garner and Jessica Chastain, tennis star Serena Williams, and several former U.S. soccer standouts.
Since purchasing a majority stake in the Spirit from Lynch in 2018, Baldwin has pumped greater resources into the operation. Last year he forged a partnership with MLS’s D.C. United to move all home matches to 20,000-capacity Audi Field in the District and 5,000-seat Segra Field in Leesburg. The Spirit had played almost exclusively at Maryland SoccerPlex in upper Montgomery County.
The NWSL will launch the 2021 campaign with the Challenge Cup, April 9-May 8. Each of the 10 teams will host two matches. The regular season will begin in mid-May.
