Angel City’s rapid rise from a pandemic-era startup to the most valuable women’s sports organization on the planet is the stuff of fairy tales — or a Harvard Business School case study, at least. Through a combination of bold branding, celebrity ownership, community outreach and purpose-driven marketing, an all-female trio of sports industry outsiders developed a unique blueprint for how to launch a sports franchise.
It even had a storybook ending: the sale of a controlling interest at a record valuation of $250 million to highly accomplished broadcast journalist Willow Bay and her husband, Disney CEO Bob Iger.
But for those with skin in the game, Angel City’s triumphant sale wasn’t an ending, just the start of a new chapter: one that comes with higher expectations both on and off the field.
“We’re not done yet,” said Julie Uhrman, the Angel City CEO who co-founded the team along with venture capitalist Kara Nortman and actor Natalie Portman. “They’re excited coming into Angel City at $250 million, but we’re all committed to getting it to a billion-dollar valuation.”
Since joining the NWSL in 2022, Angel City has averaged more than 19,000 fans per game at BMO Stadium, leading the league in attendance in two of its three seasons. In its first two seasons, Angel City’s annual revenue dwarfed that of its counterparts across the league. The $33 million that sources close to the club said the team earned in 2023 is believed to have been more than double that of its closest peer.
Angel City, however, must overcome a hurdle to growth affecting most NWSL teams. While the team plays its home games in one of North America’s most highly regarded soccer-specific venues, it is a tenant of MLS club LAFC, rather than a controlling operator or owner.
Angel City increased revenue marginally year over year to $35.4 million in 2024. Meanwhile, the Kanas City Current tripled its annual intake, driven by its opening of the league’s first purpose-built venue, CPKC Stadium. That put the Current neck and neck with Angel City at the top of the league’s revenue rankings, demonstrating the impact of venue control on growth potential.
“We don’t control our stadium, we don’t control real estate and other assets,” Uhrman acknowledged. “But I think there’s an opportunity to continue to grow the brand of Angel City, which plays out in merchandising and licensing, and as we do that, increases the value of our partnerships with sponsors.”
Ahead of Bay and Iger’s first full season at the helm, the club has hired new leaders to extract maximum performance on both the business and sporting sides of the organization, with longtime Boston Consulting Group executive Carmen Bona joining as president of business operations and longtime NWSL coach Mark Parsons coming on as sporting director. Both will report to Uhrman, who was elevated from president to CEO.
The team also made what sources close to the club characterized as a mid-seven-figure investment in infrastructure, leasing a nine-acre site at California Lutheran University, previously utilized by the Los Angeles Rams, for up to four years and converting it into the largest dedicated training center in the NWSL. It marks a major step forward for the club, which for all its off-field success, has yet to win a playoff game.
“By providing this performance center, [we’re] really removing all barriers and questions and excuses from the team to perform,” Uhrman said. “We also invested on the [sporting] staff side, so that’s been really exciting. It’s the one area of Angel City that we weren’t able to deliver on Day 1.”
The sale of naming rights to the new training center, along with space on the team’s currently vacant training kit, are low-hanging revenue opportunities for Bona as she takes over Angel City’s day-to-day business operations.
The Madrid native and lifelong soccer fan spent more than a decade at Boston Consulting Group, advising sports and entertainment clients on how to adapt their businesses to the rapidly changing media landscape. Prior to joining Angel City, she led strategic growth initiatives at United Talent Agency, including the acquisition of global soccer representation firm ROOF.
Bona praised Angel City’s founders and early business leaders for creating a brand that fans identify with, and translating that enthusiasm into league-leading ticket sales and sponsorship revenue. She believes the key to taking the next step, however, is less glamorous.
“When you launch a new team, it’s a lot more about that storytelling and that brand building,” Bona said. “Now, we’re at the time where that’s probably not going to be enough for the next wave of growth, and we’re going to need to just put a lot more thought into the analytics that we need to develop in-house and provide to partners, the processes and CRM, and all those boring acronyms.”
Uhrman, meanwhile, is continuing to think big — something her new oversight role allows. While she declined to share specifics, she said she is engaged in conversations with Bay and Iger about how to leverage Angel City’s brand equity to reach new audiences globally.
“Those have been really fun conversations with Willow and Bob,” Uhrman said, “who both, in their own right, know what it’s like to be a part of global brands.”
