Joining the NWSL when it was founded in 2013, the Red Stars were the center of two separate investigations of widespread abuse in the league—resulting in a lifetime ban for a coach and a majority owner selling the team. New owner Laura Ricketts—who also co-owns the Cubs—took over in September and brought in new leadership to continue efforts at marketing the team with an eye toward the future.
However, the Red Stars still play home matches at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill., roughly a half hour outside of Chicago. The team only played in Chicago itself once before—drawing 23,951 to Soldier Field for a match against the San Diego Wave, a club record.
In six matches at SeatGeek this season, the Red Stars have averaged an NWSL-low 3,864 fans per match—or less than 20% of league-leading Angel City FC’s more than 20,000 in Los Angeles. With baseball’s Chicago White Sox and football’s Chicago Bears seeking funds for new stadiums, and the WNBA’s Chicago Sky seeing opponents move games against them to larger arenas so fans can watch star draft pick Angel Reese, the Red Stars see a match at Wrigley Field—and a potential sellout—as part of a strong argument for a Chicago home of their own.
“Women’s sports are compelling. They’re culturally relevant. People like to watch them, and when you provide the opportunity for people to have convenient access to them, people will come,” Ricketts said. “It requires public investment, private investment, corporate partnerships, media investment … those are all things that men’s sports have enjoyed for many decades, to the tune of billions of dollars.”
Ricketts noted that when she and her group of owners were in negotiations to take over the Red Stars, they mentioned to the NWSL that giving the team a match at Wrigley Field could help raise its profile and grab the spotlight in the city “where the bulk of our fan base would be.”
However, making the case for a stadium built especially for the Red Stars—similar to the recently opened CPKC Stadium that houses the NWSL’s Kansas City Current—requires a marketer’s touch and a lawyer’s conviction.