Latest news with #JenniferEpstein
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Pro. Women's Soccer Team in Mass. Reveals New Club Brand
A new era of professional women's soccer continues to take shape in Massachusetts as the Boston Legacy Football Club unveiled the club brand this weekend. After a five-month design process led by graphic designer Matthew Wolff, the team revealed its new black, white, and green-colored crest to the public Saturday through an interactive event for fans on the Boston Common. The crest consists of a green shield, a white, stylized swan, and the word 'Boston' in black letters. Advertisement Boston Legacy FC Controlling Manager Jennifer Epstein said the swan, as the central symbol of the crest, seemed 'very appropriate to represent the values of our club, which are inclusivity, belonging, grit, and style.' The swan has eight feathers, the total number of teams that originally played in the National Women's Soccer League, including the Boston Breakers, which played its final soccer matches in 2017. The angle of the feathers is also a nod to the cables on the Leonard Zakim Bridge, an iconic piece of infrastructure in Boston. 'The crest in my mind is really the link between the city, and the fans, and the athletes,' said Stephanie Connaughton, one of Boston Legacy's co-founders and managing owners. The founders told Boston 25 News that it's now up to the fans to infuse meaning into the crest as a new generation of female athletes shines in the Bay State. Advertisement 'It is a new era in women's sports. You can see the excitement, the passion all across our country, and really, the world,' said Epstein. 'We are going to make sure that we are going to bring championships home to our fans,' said Ami Kuan Danoff, one of the club's founding partners. The Boston Legacy FC will start playing in the National Women's Soccer League in 2026. Home games will be played at Gillette Stadium for the first year, but by 2027, games will be played at the new White Stadium. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Boston Legacy FC unveils new team crest: ‘It's been a learning process. We had a hiccup'
Boston Legacy FC has learned a crucial lesson before even setting foot on the field or signing a player: It's OK to try again. 'It's been a learning process and we had a hiccup when we launched the first pieces of our brand, as you know and everyone else knows,' owner and controlling manager Jennifer Epstein told on Friday. Advertisement While 'hiccup' might be an understatement of how the first attempt at a brand launch went for the 15th NWSL club, between the original name of BOS Nation FC and the 'Too Many Balls' campaign, everyone in Boston gave themselves time and space not just to own it and learn, but to move on. In March, the team announced its new name. When it came time to think through the launch of the first crest and brand, the club took its time. Set to begin play next year, Boston Legacy FC is ready to spread its wings, completing a five-month design process following the team's decision to rebrand. As part of that, Legacy FC hired experienced designer Matthew Wolff to lead the specific project of the new crest, with the team name already announced and the colors dating back to the team's original launch last year. The club sought an expert they could trust — enter Wolff, a known designer in the soccer world — and enlisted brand advisors in addition to their own input to ensure they had a range of viewpoints for their second attempt. Advertisement 'Opening it up to a plurality of perspectives and voices really helped us drill down and do something that we think is beautiful, but also mixes older and newer and is the perfect symbol for this new legacy that we are building here in Boston,' Epstein said. Rather than using the entire team name, the crest simply says Boston. The team will celebrate the new identity with a party on Boston Common on Saturday. Wolff is no stranger to stepping into a project where a course correction is needed. His first NWSL project was in 2020 with Racing Louisville FC, following their original launch as Proof Louisville FC. Since then, he has also worked with Gotham FC and the San Diego Wave. 'Intentionality matters,' Wolff told before getting into what he has learned from his work across the league over the past five years. 'Women's soccer fans really care about the way that their clubs look, the way that their clubs feel, what their clubs represent. There's a high standard, and there should be a high standard for this.' Advertisement As a designer, Wolff is a proponent of the idea that a club's crest and visual identity directly contribute to the growth of the game. As for the crest itself, it wasn't always a given that the swan would be the centerpiece of the design. The idea kept coming up in conversations, though, according to Wolff, and they realized it was strong enough to build the entire identity around. 'Swans have a long history in the city of Boston. They're iconic birds that populate the Charles and Mystic (rivers). Of course, they reside in the Boston Public Garden, which is in the Emerald Necklace, which extends through to where our home pitch will be at White Stadium,' Epstein said. And looking at the rest of the crests across the league, while the Washington Spirit have a nod to the eagle in theirs, a bird would stand out from the rest. 'Swans are extraordinarily fierce and extraordinarily loyal. Doesn't that sound like a Bostonian to you?' Wolff asked. 'Swans are elegant and fierce and loyal. That's Boston, that's Boston sports. Early on, we realised there was some mirroring of the animal and the club's values and Bostonians' personalities. The triangulation of those three things made it feel like the right move for the center of the crest.' Advertisement The team's explainer also makes a nod to 'Romeo and Juliet,' a pair of swans that summered in the Boston Public Garden for years. Both swans were female. It's a fun aside that should be popular with supporters, even if it wasn't directly an influence on the design itself. Once the swan was set, there were the smaller details to fine-tune. Each feather represents one of the original eight teams of the NWSL from its launch in 2013. The Boston Breakers, the previous NWSL team in the city until 2018, were always alphabetically at the top of that list. 'The Breakers obviously are a really important part of Boston soccer, Boston sports, women's sports, women's soccer history,' Wolff said. The initial design brief always had a nod to them in some way, listed as one of the priorities. The angle of the feathers is also a nod to the Zakim Bridge, which crosses the Charles River into the North End of Boston and was also featured on Boston's interim crest used in the early days of the expansion team. Advertisement 'When I'm working on a football crest, I want to represent the football club and the women who are going to compete on the pitch,' Wolff said. 'But of equal, if not more, importance, is representing the entire city, the entire community — so a powerful football crest can really draw people that maybe weren't originally interested in the sport to the sport.' If done right, said Wolff, a crest represents the player, the club, the local, the fan, but their family too, their neighbors, the community itself. There was no ignoring the power of sports in Boston on this project, something Wolff said he thought about frequently at a time when we gather as communities less and less. Yes, there is brand power in using Boston rather than Legacy FC — an instant shortcut to the city's culture as a whole, but it also seems to be one half of a promise from the club. The critical work right now, Epstein said, is building the relationships and trust with the community of Boston and the greater area. 'This is just the beginning. We want to see that long-term pride and loyalty from our fans in the city as a whole, in what we are building. It's always at the core of what we are doing — thinking about the community and how we can bring them in.' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Soccer, NWSL, Sports Business 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Boston Legacy FC unveils new team crest: ‘It's been a learning process. We had a hiccup'
Boston Legacy FC has learned a crucial lesson before even setting foot on the field or signing a player: it's OK to try again. 'It's been a learning process and we had a hiccup when we launched the first pieces of our brand, as you know, and everyone else knows,' owner and controlling manager Jennifer Epstein told The Athletic on Friday. Advertisement While 'hiccup' might be an understatement of how the first attempt at a brand launch went for the 15th NWSL club, between the original name of BOS Nation FC and the 'Too Many Balls' campaign, everyone in Boston gave themselves time and space not just to own it and learn, but to move on. In March, the team announced its new name. When it came time to think through the launch of their first crest and brand, the club took its time. Set to begin play next year, Boston Legacy FC is ready to spread its wings, completing a five-month design process following the team's decision to rebrand. As part of that, Legacy FC hired experienced designer Matthew Wolff to lead the specific project of the new crest, with the team name already announced and the colors dating back to the team's original launch last year. The club sought an expert they could trust — enter Wolff, a known designer in the soccer world — and enlisted brand advisors in addition to their own input to ensure they had a range of viewpoints for their second attempt. 'Opening it up to a plurality of perspectives and voices really helped us drill down and do something that we think is beautiful, but also mixes older and newer and is the perfect symbol for this new legacy that we are building here in Boston,' Epstein said. Rather than using the entire team name, the crest simply says Boston. The team will celebrate the new identity with a party on Boston Common on Saturday. Wolff is no stranger to stepping into a project where a course correction is needed. His first NWSL project was in 2020 with Racing Louisville FC, following their original launch as Proof Louisville FC. Since then, he's also worked with Gotham FC and the San Diego Wave. 'Intentionality matters,' Wolff told The Athletic before getting into what he's learned from his work across the league over the past five years. 'Women's soccer fans really care about the way that their clubs look, the way that their clubs feel, what their clubs represent. There's a high standard, and there should be a high standard for this.' Advertisement As a designer, Wolff is a proponent of the idea that a club's crest and visual identity directly contribute to the growth of the game. As for the crest itself, it wasn't always a given that the swan would be the centerpiece of the design. The idea kept coming up in conversations, though, according to Wolff, and they realized it was strong enough to build the entire identity around. 'Swans have a long history in the city of Boston. They're iconic birds that populate the Charles and Mystic (rivers). Of course, they reside in the Boston Public Garden, which is in the Emerald Necklace, which extends through to where our home pitch will be at White Stadium,' Epstein said. And looking at the rest of the crests across the league, while the Washington Spirit have a nod to the eagle in theirs, a bird would stand out from the rest. 'Swans are extraordinarily fierce and extraordinarily loyal. Doesn't that sound like a Bostonian to you?' Wolff asked. 'Swans are elegant and fierce and loyal. To me, that's Boston, that's Boston sports. Early on, we realised there was some mirroring of the animal and the club's values and Bostonians' personalities. The triangulation of those three things made it feel like the right move for the center of the crest.' The team's explainer also makes a nod to 'Romeo and Juliet,' a pair of swans that summered in the Boston Public Garden for years. Both swans were female. It's a fun aside that should be popular with supporters, even if it wasn't directly an influence on the design itself. Once the swan was set, there were the smaller details to fine-tune. Each feather represents one of the original eight teams of the NWSL from its launch in 2013. The Boston Breakers were always alphabetically at the top of that list. 'The Breakers obviously are a really important part of Boston soccer, Boston sports, women's sports, women's soccer history,' Wolff said. The initial design brief always had a nod to them in some way, listed as one of the priorities. The angle of the feathers is also a nod to the Zakim Bridge, which crosses the Charles River into the North End of Boston and which was also featured on Boston's interim crest used in the early days of the expansion team. Advertisement 'When I'm working on a football crest, I want to represent the football club and the women who are going to compete on the pitch,' Wolff said. 'But of equal, if not more importance, is representing the entire city, the entire community — so I believe that a powerful football crest can really draw people that maybe weren't originally interested in the sport to the sport.' If done right, said Wolff, a crest represents the player, the club, the local, the fan, but their family too, their neighbors, the community itself. There was no ignoring the power of sports in Boston on this project, something Wolff said he thought about frequently at a time when we gather as communities less and less. Yes, there is brand power in using Boston rather than Legacy FC — an instant shortcut to the city's culture as a whole, but it also seems to be one half of a promise from the club. The critical work right now, Epstein said, is building the relationships and trust with the community of Boston and the greater area. 'This is just the beginning. We want to see that long-term pride and loyalty from our fans in the city as a whole, in what we are building. It's always at the core of what we are doing — thinking about the community and how we can bring them in.' (Top Photo: Boston Legacy FC)
Bloomberg
23-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Douglas Elliman Gets Takeover Bid Amid Fallout From Probe of Former Star Agents
By and Jennifer Epstein Save Douglas Elliman Inc., the real estate brokerage battling fallout from lawsuits involving a pair of former star agents, received a merger offer from a competitor this week that would value the business at about double its current share price, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Anywhere Real Estate Inc., formerly known as Realogy, has approached Douglas Elliman with a bid that would value it at more than $4 a share, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn't public. Douglas Elliman isn't likely to accept the bid at the current level, the person said.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NWSL expansion team Boston Legacy gets White Stadium court win
NWSL expansion team Boston Legacy gets White Stadium court win A Superior Court Justice on Wednesday ruled that the renovation of White Stadium, the future home of Boston Legacy FC in the NWSL, is not in violation of state law. Judge Matthew Nestor found that the Franklin Park stadium parcel, where the stadium is being revitalized, is not subject to Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution, allowing the project to proceed as planned. Advertisement The decision is a major win for Boston Legacy and the City of Boston, which have long championed their vision of bringing professional women's soccer back to the city through a public-private partnership that would renovate the historic stadium, which will remain at 10,000-seat capacity once the work has been completed. The stadium would be shared by the professional team and Boston Public Schools (BPS). A release from the City of Boston last month said the renovation will triple the available hours the BPS can use the stadium to between 750-900 per year. 'With today's ruling, we are pleased to continue the revitalization of White Stadium alongside the city of Boston,' Jennifer Epstein, Boston Legacy FC's controlling manager, said in a statement. 'Boston Public Schools students and the communities around Franklin Park have long deserved the type of generational investment this project delivers.' Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a staunch supporter of the project, called the decision a 'historic victory' in a separate statement. Advertisement 'A renovated White Stadium will be open and used by BPS students, coaches, and community 15 hours per day, more than 345 days per year,' Wu said in the statement. 'We thank the Superior Court for twice affirming this vital project for our students and community as a year-round facility that will inspire the next generation of Boston students.' The team is slated to begin play in 2026 alongside another expansion club in Denver. Construction is expected to finish next winter, in time for the start of the 2026 NWSL season. The end of this legal challenge removes a major hurdle for Boston Legacy, which has had a turbulent journey since Boston Unity Soccer Partners LLC, the investors group behind the club, was awarded NWSL expansion rights in September 2023 The White Stadium lawsuit, filed five months later, hoped to halt the project altogether. Advertisement The plaintiffs — the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and several residents who live near Franklin Park — argued the project would equate to the privatization of public land that was legally mandated to remain public. The plaintiffs, in their challenge against White Stadium, were met with various setbacks along the way. They failed to convince the Suffolk Superior Court judge to provide an injunction last March and then were denied their request for a trial delay. One day before the trial, a ruling by Nestor essentially threw out half of the plaintiffs' case, signaling that his decision may eventually sway in the defendant's favor. The judge in that pre-trial hearing ruled that the conservancy had no standing to bring a case against the defendants on the matter of whether the George Robert White Trust, which owns the stadium and the parcel of land where it sits, could make a deal with the city. The conservancy's president, Karen Mauney-Brodek, said in a statement on Wednesday that their group was 'deeply disappointed' by Nestor's decision and that they 'plan to assess our legal options.' Advertisement 'Our advocacy for Franklin Park and the community is about supporting our kids and the park with a truly public stadium. The communities around the park should be central to decision-making for our parks, not asked their opinion after decisions are already made,' Mauney-Brodek said in the statement. 'We are proud to stand with community leaders who are not being heard. It's our organization's mission to work with all to protect and support Franklin Park and the rest of the Emerald Necklace for today and the future.' The cost of the stadium project is expected to exceed $200 million, with the NWSL club responsible for more than half of those costs. The debate over the future of White Stadium has become a hotly debated subject in the city's current mayoral race, which inadvertently brings with it a version of soccer politics. Boston's current mayor, Michelle Wu, has been a staunch supporter of the White Stadium project, as well as the NWSL team behind it. The incumbent is facing a unique challenge by Josh Kraft, who has been an outspoken critic of the stadium. Kraft – son of New England Patriots and New England Revolution owner Robert Kraft – also has ties to his family's push to build their own soccer-specific stadium for the Revolution in Everett, which would require an agreement with the city. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. NWSL, Sports Business 2025 The Athletic Media Company
