While it might not be the flashiest way to chart the rapid growth of women’s professional sports, a building boom is showing that investors are paying attention.
There’s already a dedicated women’s soccer stadium in the National Women’s Soccer League and another one is planned. The WNBA has seen a jump in new practice facilities — including a purpose-built training center for the Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark’s team.
These new facilities, often designed specifically for women, help teams attract and retain elite talent while also allowing for possible new revenue streams, like sponsorship opportunities.
“I would argue in the last two and a half years, we’ve made more progress than anyone thought would be possible. And our work is not done,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said.
The NWSL’s Portland Thorns and the city’s yet-unnamed WNBA team for 2026 are among the teams that have benefitted. The Bhathal family, which owns both teams, is building a $150 million training facility to be used by both teams — a unique partnership between the two leagues.
Just 10 years ago, stories about the lack of proper facilities in the NWSL began to surface. Former players for Sky Blue, which later rebranded as Gotham FC, practiced on a field with a porta-potty for a restroom. Former U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo blogged in 2016 about some of the dismal conditions she experienced while playing in the league.
Last year, the NWSL’s Chicago Stars were left scrambling after a music festival was booked for Bridgeview Village that would have disrupted fans attending a home match. While the music festival later moved, the incident highlighted the issues some teams have with stadiums that are not their own. Many pro women’s teams must share facilities with men’s teams or other entities.
The arrival of Clark supercharged the WNBA last year, with league attendance nearly doubling over 2023. The Fever in January announced a new $78 million training facility to open in 2027 that will give the team its own space apart from the NBA’s Pacers.
The Chicago Sky, which has practiced at a public recreation center, will move into its own training facility ahead of the 2026 season.
The NWSL’s Kansas City Current opened the first purpose-built women’s soccer stadium last year. Denver, which was awarded the league’s 16th team and begins play in 2026, pledged to build a privately-financed stadium as part of its expansion bid.
Bay FC is building a training center on Treasure Island, a former military base in the San Francisco Bay. Earlier this year, Angel City opened the NWSL’s largest practice facility at Cal Lutheran University, which includes a 5,400-square-foot gym and even a children’s playroom.
“There’s not too many players, but for those of us that have been in the NWSL since its inception, we’ve played through a lot. We’ve played through understaffed teams, inadequate facilities, turf so hot it melted the bottom of my cleats,” Angel City forward Christen Press said. “We’ve played through investigations and abuse. We’ve played without a players association, without the opportunity to collectively bargain. We’ve played without respect and dignity, and we did it because we believed in a day like today.”
Infrastructure is a natural outgrowth of the investment pouring into women’s sports as interest rises. Athletes are even joining in: New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu recently joined the ownership group of Bay FC, and tennis star Serena Williams bought a stake in the WNBA’s new Toronto team.
Karina LeBlanc, who went from goalkeeper to general manager of the Portland Thorns and now works for the Bhathal family’s RAJ Sports, said increased visibility creates more fans, fans create more interest, and interest translates to investment.
“Everybody plays a role. Whether you’re a fan who’s buying a ticket, whether you’re turning on the TV, everyone can have impact on the investment of women’s sports,” LeBlanc said. “And investment doesn’t just have to be financially, it’s the energy, it’s the time, it’s all of it. And in this time and moment right now, if we all lean into the little part that we can do, just watch it in 10 years.”
Such investment is reflected in team valuations. After the Bhathals acquired Portland’s WNBA expansion team for $125 million, bids for a 16th franchise were expected to reach $200 million and beyond. Disney CEO Bob Iger and wife Willow Bay, dean of USC’s journalism and communications school, acquired a controlling interest in Angel City FC last year at a $250 million valuation.
While in the past women’s sports have been championed to promote equity and representation, the conversation has shifted as revenue projections have surpassed $1 billion globally. It’s now big business.
“In order to maintain the recent growth and investment, those in and around women’s sports must continue to move it beyond using sports as an advocacy tool and far more toward treating their assets as compelling businesses with economic upside,” said David M. Carter, founder of the Sports Business Group and adjunct professor of sports business at USC.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
The growth of women’s sports is spurring a building boom
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