Red Stars using game at Wrigley as an opportunity to 'direct their own future'

When the Red Stars drew 25,000 fans to their doubleheader with the Fire in 2022, skeptics had a lot to say.

Their most common rejoinder was, ‘‘They only did that well because it was a doubleheader.’’

On June 8, the Red Stars will have an opportunity to refute that claim when they play Bay FC at Wrigley Field.

‘‘We’re trying to direct our own future,’’ Red Stars president Karen Leetzow said. ‘‘The reality is, Bridgeview is a beautiful stadium; it’s just too far from the city of Chicago.’’

Bridgeview long has been a source of frustration for the franchise in terms of fan growth. Many fans can’t afford to make the long commute, and there isn’t a convenient public-transportation option out to the suburb. From a pragmatic standpoint, the Red Stars know being in the city will give them the best opportunity to continue developing their fan base.

But there’s a lot more riding on the team’s game against Bay FC than quieting the naysayers. Not only will it be the first NWSL game to be played at Wrigley, but strong ticket sales also would give the Red Stars an argument in their attempt to get a piece of the public-funding pie for a new stadium.

The Red Stars already have sold more than 16,000 tickets, with Wrigley expected to hold about 37,000 after necessary adjustments to turn it from a baseball field to a soccer pitch. The team thinks it can set an NWSL attendance record and potentially even reach a sellout.

The NWSL’s regular-season attendance grew 26% from 2022 to 2023 and exceeded 1.2 million total fans. OL Reign set the single-game attendance mark when more than 34,000 fans showed up for Megan Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game.

When Red Stars saw the Bears and White Sox request public funding to help them build new stadiums, Leetzow issued a statement asking that her team, too, have a seat at that table.

One of the common pushbacks Leetzow hears in the Red Stars’ pursuit of stadium funding is, ‘‘Why would we help subsidize this stadium when the team only draws an average of 5,000 fans?’’

Leetzow said the Red Stars are trying to execute the NWSL version of ‘‘Field of Dreams.’’

‘‘We’re trying to show elected officials that if you build it, they will come,’’ she said.

Leetzow was hired fresh off a successful tenure as the U.S. Soccer Federation’s chief legal officer. She played a significant role in the U.S. women’s national team’s fight for equal pay.

While the discussion around funding for stadiums is a hot-button topic, it’s an issue of equity for women’s sports.
‘‘If you take all four of the leading men’s sports leagues in this country, since 1970, 87% of them have received some kind of public support,’’ Leetzow said.

The Red Stars have ‘‘made the rounds’’ in terms of having conversations with elected officials, Leetzow said. The focus of those discussions is on equity.

Some don’t think the Red Stars should have access to public funding because the return on investment won’t yield what franchises such as the Bears and White Sox potentially could. The issue with that argument is the decades-long advantage both have on the Red Stars.

Leetzow is asking that the Red Stars be considered the same way men’s leagues were in their infancy.

What the Red Stars think they can provide to the community is an investment in young women. If their plans to build a stadium are successful, their primary goal would be to create economic benefits. But they also want to provide young women with access to their facilities through soccer academies or high school tournaments.

The Red Stars’ goal is to build a 14,000-seat stadium that could be expanded. If funding comes, Leetzow said they would be ready to go.

‘‘We’re hesitant to talk about locations because that would just drive costs for us,’’ Leetzow said.

Leetzow pointed to Kansas City as an example of what’s possible. The Current built the first stadium specifically for an NWSL team. All but $6 million of the $117 million project was financed through private money from ownership.

The U.S. Soccer and Mexican Football federations this week withdrew their joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup but still plan to make a play for the 2031 tournament.

Leetzow would like the Red Stars to be considered as a host for the World Cup matches if the U.S./Mexico bid is successful, but she doesn’t think that’s possible without a soccer-specific stadium.

‘‘By demonstrating that we can fill a stadium, legislators will have their eyes open to both the quality of play in the NWSL and where these women deserve to play,’’ Leetzow said.