Groundbreaking scheduled for pro women's soccer HQ in Marietta

Arthur Blank's professional women's soccer club will break ground on its Marietta headquarters next week.

AMB Sports and Entertainment, the club's parent company, announced an April 24 groundbreaking at the site off Franklin Gateway. Blank, National Women's Soccer League Commissioner Jessica Berman and city officials plan to attend.

The Marietta City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to give final approval for the project, green-lighting a site plan and signing off on a land swap between the city and Blank.

The transaction closed Friday afternoon, city officials confirmed.

The 33-acre site where the headquarters and training ground will be built was once slated to host an IKEA store. Blank's facility will be home to the 17th franchise of the NWSL, the highest level of women's soccer in the U.S.

The billionaire cofounder of The Home Depot, who also owns the MLS' Atlanta United and the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, has pledged to build "a world class training ground" for the women's club. Home matches will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The club's name, colors and badge have not been announced, but will be unveiled within the next two months, AMBSE CEO Rich McKay said Wednesday.

The land swap saw the city sell Blank the 33 acres, which are just a half-mile down the road from Atlanta United's headquarters and practice facility, for $10 million.

Blank also donated to the city 10 acres of wooded land he owned across the street from the Atlanta United facility. The city plans to develop that site for use as a park, and potentially other community uses. Blank will donate an additional $1 million to help fund the park's construction.

McKay said Wednesday AMBSE needed to break ground "very soon" in order to have the facility up and running in time for the start of the 2028 NWSL season in March, when the club will play its first match.

Plans for the women's facility include a 38,000-square-foot training headquarters and surface parking. The professional women's team will practice on two full-sized grass soccer fields and two half-sized grass fields, for goalkeeper practice and plyometrics.

Also included are two smaller, U12-sized turf fields for use by youth organizations.

For the viewing public, there will be an open-air shelter on a hill, a building with concessions and restrooms and a "community plaza."

While women's team players and staff will park in a private, gate-secured lot, the development also includes public parking for visitors. The public lot will be maintained by the city and used as overflow parking for the city's Franklin Gateway Sports Complex across the street.

Background

Last December, the council voted to purchase the IKEA lot for $18.5 million, in hopes of luring the women's team to Marietta. IKEA bought the property in 2018 with plans to build a store there, but later backed away from those plans. The lot has sat vacant ever since.

Per the sale agreement, Blank will invest at least $60 million, though AMBSE CEO Rich McKay said he thinks they will spend "well in excess of that."

Blank has invested more than $90 million into Atlanta United's 50,000-square-foot facility, which opened in 2017.

AMBSE plans to apply for property tax breaks from the Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors, with the support and assistance of the city.

The women's club would not pay property tax on the land in the first year, and pay 10% of the taxes in the second year. Taxes would increase by 10% annually over the next decade, eventually being taxed at full value.

In 2015, the City Council lured Atlanta United to town with a deal that also included incentives.

Both the men's and women's facilities were made possible by the passage of a $68 million redevelopment bond by Marietta voters in 2013. The city used most of the bond money to purchase and raze four aging apartment buildings on what was formerly known as Franklin Road, then sold the land at artificially low prices to attract new development.

City leaders initiated the bond project to address what they saw as a glut of dilapidated apartment complexes and shopping centers in the area. The corridor was suffering from high vacancy rates and crime.

The former IKEA property where the women's club will be based was once home to the 400-unit Marquis Place apartment complex and the Franklin Plaza shopping center.

Mayor Steve "Thunder" Tumlin, a driving force behind the deals to bring the Atlanta United and NWSL facilities to Marietta, turned 79 Friday, as the latter deal was made official.

"That was a hell of a birthday present," Tumlin told the Journal.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 5:32 AM.