Washington Spirit to host NWSL semifinal at Audi Field after venue scramble

The Washington Spirit will host their semifinal game against the Utah Royals at Audi Field next Saturday at noon ET. The decision comes as the No. 3 Spirit advanced as the highest seed on their side of the bracket after defeating the Portland Thorns 4-1 on Sunday. However, hosting at their typical home venue, Audi Field, wasn’t a guarantee. The Spirit’s alternative option was to play their semifinal 10 miles away from Audi Field at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, home of the NFL’s Washington Commanders. While the move would have kept the Spirit in their home market, it would have required supporters to relocate on short notice to a much larger football stadium for a high-stakes playoff match. The Spirit were one of the three highest seeds going into the postseason who do not control their venue. Major League Soccer team D.C. United owns and operates Audi Field. The Spirit — who started playing at the venue in 2019 — have become synonymous with the stadium, even helping earn it the commonly used nickname of “Rowdy Audi” due to their ability to sell out to loud crowds of fans. The Spirit have made it to the NWSL Championship the last two years and entered the postseason in a favorable hosting position. However, in August, it was announced that the 46th Secretaries’ Cup football game between United States Coast Guard Academy and the United States Merchant Marine Academy would be held Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. ET. The annual Division III college game limited the options for the Spirit to host. Washington’s conflict was part of a much broader scheduling problem that had forced the NWSL to develop contingency plans for nearly every possible semifinal matchup. With three of the top-seeded teams’ potential semifinal venues not being available, the league established four priorities for determining alternatives: preserving home-market advantage, securing optimal kickoff times, protecting higher-seeded teams’ scheduling preferences and reversing home-field assignments only as a last resort, according to league documents previously seen by The Athletic . With national television windows already assigned to CBS and ABC, the league had limited flexibility to move matches without creating other problems. The document showed that the NWSL evaluated the semifinal schedule as a whole rather than treating each matchup as an independent scheduling problem. A decision that appears unfavorable to one club might be necessary to avoid a more significant disadvantage for another, especially around broadcasting windows set in primetime television for the weekend. Going into the semifinals next week, Gotham FC also faced a Saturday conflict at Sports Illustrated Stadium because the New York Red Bulls are scheduled to host Mexican club Club América in a friendly. San Diego Wave, the second seed, could not use Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday because of a San Diego State football game. The team’s loss to Utah Royals in the quarterfinals voided that issue. In the Spirit’s case, the league’s contingency plan offered the semifinal to be played in Landover, at noon ET, which would have allowed Gotham FC to play at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. With options being equal, the Spirit, which is the lower seed team, was to take the alternative venue. However, discussions involving the Spirit and D.C. United resulted in the favorable change of venue. The league confirmed the time and location of the Spirit’s semifinal game but only Gotham’s time was confirmed. The lack of information for the No. 1 seed comes as poor conditions at Sports Illustrated Stadium became the focal point of Gotham’s match on Sunday. The alternative venue is Icahn Stadium in New York City, which holds roughly 5,000 fans. The results of this weekend’s quarterfinals also narrowed those possibilities. Utah’s upset of the No. 2 San Diego Wave on Friday ensured that the winner of Washington’s quarterfinal against Portland would host the Royals. Kansas City Current also advanced past Angel City, while Gotham defeated Seattle Reign. Washington’s victory meant the Spirit would host Utah, but resolving the venue conflict required more than simply earning home-field advantage. The situation is a reminder of the limitations facing NWSL clubs that share stadiums with other teams and events. The Kansas City Current are the only team that currently have their own stadium. The league has been prioritizing expansion franchises with infrastructure plans in the last few cycles. This year’s expansion teams, Denver Summit FC and Boston Legacy FC, will both eventually have purpose-built stadiums. Atlanta City FC and the Columbus franchise, who are joining in 2028, belong to ownership groups with MLS teams but promised to offer their women’s teams equal access to their venues. The league has acknowledged that these challenges are part of a larger infrastructure issue, with meaningful influence over stadium scheduling increasingly important as the NWSL expands. “While some circumstances are outside our control, we’ve proactively evaluated multiple scenarios and their tradeoffs to prepare for every potential matchup, with the goal of minimizing disruption to players, clubs and fans while protecting competitive integrity,” the league said in a statement ahead of the quarterfinals, addressing the conflicts. “These challenges also reinforce why stadium infrastructure and meaningful control or influence over venue availability have been central to our growth strategy for years.” Audi Field is scheduled to host the NWSL Championship on Saturday, Nov. 21. If the Spirit defeat Utah, they will have the opportunity to compete for the title at home. This article originally appeared in The Athletic . Gotham FC, Washington Spirit, NWSL, Women's Soccer 2026 The Athletic Media Company