FUTBALL AT THE FRIENDLY CONFINES

Since the Ricketts family purchased the Chicago Cubs nearly 15 years ago, a lot has changed at Wrigley field.

There’s the expansion of the footprint of the Wrigley Field property, including Gallagher Way, the addition of hotels, such regular blockbuster concerts by the likes of Pearl Jam and The Grateful Dead, and that little thing called a World Series Championship in 2016—the team’s first in 108 years.

You can add another historic event to the list.

On June 8, Wrigley Field will play host to a match between the Chicago Red Stars and Bay FC, the first women’s professional soccer match played at the friendly confines. And tickets are selling at a pretty good clip.

Wilmette resident and Red Stars owner Laura Ricketts, who also owns a share of the Chicago Sky Women’s WNBA franchise as well as her stake in the Cubs, says the match is an opportunity to showcase the growth of women’s sports and the quality of play in the NWSL, but also to promote the city to a global audience. Soccer is a global sport, and she’d love for the world to be watching.

“It will be really making a great point. It’s going to be great entertainment for everybody there and it will be nationally televised,” Ricketts says. “If you come out, you’ll be glad you did.”

Women’s athletics are having a bit of a renaissance at the moment. There’s the Caitlin Clark phenomenon, and the fact the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final between The University of South Carolina and University of Iowa received higher television ratings than the men’s final.

But, according to Ricketts, there’s a lot of work to do to draw investment to women’s sports. It was reported a few weeks ago that Clark, the first pick in the WNBA draft, in her first year will make a fraction of the rookie salary that men in the NBA are paid their rookie years.

It really comes down to investment, Ricketts says. Men have had the luxury of building stadiums with public support, while women have had to fight for good venues in which to play.

There is currently only one professional stadium in the country solely dedicated to a women’s professional team, the home of the Kansas City Current of the NWSL. The project only received a modicum of public financial support—$6 million in tax credits for a $117 million stadium. The average NFL stadium was built with 50 percent public dollars. According to the sports business publication Sportico, the Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, and Baltimore Ravens secured public support totaling billions of dollars over the past few years.

It’s a glaring inequity.

Ricketts says if you build a good women’s sports venue in a good location, fans will come.

“It’s something we want to have for our city and our state in terms of promoting women’s sports, but also promoting the city and state globally,” she adds.

The Red Stars currently play their home games at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, which is not an ideal location to draw large crowds because of its lack of accessible public transportation. And while the Chicago Fire, the men’s professional soccer team, moved their home games to Soldier Field a few years ago, the team still trains in Bridgeview, so the Red Stars must fight for field time. The team is also one of few NWSL teams in the Midwest, so its fan base is much larger than just the Chicago area.

“We are the Chicago Red Stars, not the Bridgeview Red Stars. That star comes from the Chicago flag. Our colors come from the Chicago flag. The culture of our team has very much been a Chicago culture— gutsy and gritty and getting it done,” says Ricketts. “We should have a stadium in Chicago where it’s accessible to our national fan base.”

Ricketts notes that soccer is arguably the most popular sport in the world and the game continues to grow. Sports like baseball and football are largely North American sports. Sure, they are profitable, and have received billions of dollars in public and private investment, but she believes soccer has the most opportunity for growth because of its global reach. The key is to have investors who recognize that.

“I would make the point that because of women’s sports being at an inflection point, there’s some really good reasons the Red Stars can argue for investment from the city and the state,” she says. “These are some things we can argue for that the other men’s pro sports can’t. The game at Wrigley, it’s not just going to be great for our sport and our club, but there are bigger ramifications.”

Ricketts credits her experience as a Cubs’ co-owner for her approach to running the Red Stars and even her involvement in the Sky. There’s perhaps no better pressure cooker to learn the professional sports business than owning a team that has as dedicated a fan base as the Cubs.

“Having our family be the stewards of the Cubs since 2009 and everything that we’ve learned over the years, everything I’ve learned about sports and the power of sports, and the management are really key in my decision to invest in both the Sky and the Red stars,” she says. “I believe in the future of women’s sports. It’s not a civic investment for me. It’s not a charitable investment. It’s a business investment and it’s very much aligned with my passion for women’s sports and for equity for everyone.”

The current success of women’s sports, if not investment-wise, received a big boost from the public sector. Ricketts points to the federal civil rights law Title IX— which went into effect more than 50 years ago— afforded her and girls across the country the opportunity to play little league with the boys.

Women’s sports are starting to see the real benefits from that legislation now.

“It’s been this evolution since Title IX and now we’re starting to see a cosmic change in that with all the talent we’re about see now coming into the WNBA and NWSL,” says Ricketts. “We’re seeing a moment in time and now is a good time to invest and capitalize on that.”

The Chicago Red Stars host Bay FC on June 8 at Wrigley Field. For tickets, visit chicagoredstars.com.