Portland women’s soccer team sells out 5,000 season ticket deposits

 Dana Ricker leads Portland Hearts of Pine fans in a chant at a game against the Spokane Velocity on Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland. (Libby Kamrowski Kenny/Staff Photographer) Maine soccer fans showed immediate and unprecedented support for the planned USLW women’s preprofessional team that will join the Portland Hearts of Pine franchise in 2027. Within an hour, the second-year franchise sold out 5,000 non-refundable $25 season ticket deposits to see college-age women play an anticipated six-game home season next May and June. “Totally, absolutely unprecedented for a preprofessional club,” said Hannah Sirois, the Hearts of Pine’s vice president of fan experience. “But how we want to continue to look at it is to help build a foundation for women to be supported here in the state of Maine. Similar to our men’s team, we want to be best in class.” The organization has had a long stated goal of having both a men’s and women’s team. The men’s team set USL League One attendance records in its first season and has sold out every match at Fitzpatrick Stadium. This year, the Hearts of Pine are averaging 6,201 fans at the 5,500-seat city-owned facility. Based on the ticket deposit sales, the women’s team will have a similar crowd of supporters. The ticket deposits went on sale at noon, and 3,000 were purchased in the first five minutes. “Unreal. Totally unreal,” Sirois said. “We didn’t necessarily know what would happen. We just continue to be blown away by the support of this community.” Advertisement The club did the work to increase enthusiasm and knowledge about the women’s team prior to Thursday’s ticket deposit sale. Last October, the franchise [emphasized its intention to bring a women’s team to Portland](https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/10/09/hearts-of-pine-exploring-adding-a-womens-soccer-team/). It kept the momentum going through [town hall public forums](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/03/07/hearts-of-pine-begin-public-discussion-on-womens-team/), an [online chat](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/03/24/us-womens-soccer-legends-talk-about-potential-portland-team/) with women’s soccer legends Michelle Akers and Sara Whalen Hess and current U.S. women’s national team star Sam Coffey, and then a recent announcement that it was [officially moving forward with a women’s team](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/04/portland-hearts-of-pine-will-field-womens-soccer-team-in-2027/) and planned to use Fitzpatrick Stadium for games. The club intends to unveil the women’s team branding, including name and crest, in late summer, Sirois said. That will also be the time frame when the coaching staff will likely be announced and the conversion of ticket deposits into season-ticket sales will begin. Season tickets are expected to start at $90 ($15 per match). The USLW does not report average attendance, but it’s apparent that the Portland team will immediately be a top draw. Most teams draw less than 1,000 fans. There are a few exceptions. Minnesota Aurora FC reportedly brings in over 5,000 per match. In fact, if Portland’s women’s team attendance comes close to the Hearts of Pine’s men’s team, it will be more popular than nearly all of the USL Super League professional women’s teams. The USL Super League averaged 2,634 fans for its recently completed 2025-26 regular season. Only Sporting Jax (7,494) averaged over 3,200 fans per game. Advertisement The NWSL, which now includes expansion squad Boston Legacy FC, is considered by most analysts to be the premier women’s league in the world. In 2025, its 14 teams [averaged 10,669 fans.](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/11/04/nwsl-attendance-down-5-from-last-years-record-mark/) This season, eight of the 16 teams are averaging over 11,500 per game, including Boston at 12,012, while four clubs are averaging less than 6,000. The USLW is a national league split into many regional divisions, with a 10- to 12-game schedule in May and June followed by playoffs. This year, there are 95 teams across 14 divisions, including expansion franchise Vermont Green FC in the newly created Northeast Division. Designed primarily for college-eligible players, similar to baseball’s wooden bat summer leagues, the USLW provides high-level competition with development and exposure opportunities while allowing athletes to maintain NCAA eligibility. The Hearts of Pine have [received approval](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/03/stadium-agreement-for-anticipated-hearts-of-pine-womens-team-moves-ahead/) from the City of Portland’s housing and economic development committee to amend its Fitzpatrick Stadium lease to allow for the addition of eight extra dates to accommodate women’s games. A vote on the amendment changes is on the agenda for Monday’s city council meeting. Currently, the Hearts of Pine are offered 40 dates from which they can choose 25 for it’s men’s games. The amendment would still offer 40 dates, with the soccer club allowed to choose 33 for men’s and women’s games combined. If approved, the club will pay market rate for facility use for the women’s games, plus any additional practices. The men’s team does not pay rental fees in lieu of the club’s $3 million investment in stadium infrastructure, including an artificial turf installed in 2025 and upgrades to the lighting and sound system. “We’re feeling good about the relationship we have with the city and with the parks and recreation department,” Sirois said. “We’re part of Monday’s agenda, and how we’re looking at it is, it’s just an opportunity to make it official.” _._ Copy the Story Link Tagged: [Hearts of Pine](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/hearts-of-pine/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/steve-craig) [Steve CraigStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/steve-craig) Steve Craig reports primarily about Maine’s active high school sports scene and, more recently, the Portland Hearts of Pine men's professional soccer team. His first newspaper job was covering Maine. [More by Steve Craig](https://www.pressherald.com/author/steve-craig)