The world's first stadium built specifically for a women's sports franchise opened in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday, March 16, as the new home of the NWSL's Kansas City Current.
The venue, announced for the first time in 2021, is yet another reminder of the rise of women's sports in recent years. Deloitte estimates that women's elite sports will generate more than $1 billion in revenue for the first time in 2024. This is a 300% increase from 2021, and SponsorUnited research found that the number of sponsorship deals in women's professional sports is even higher than in 2021. Compared to the previous year, it was 22%.
In 2023 alone, several records were set in women's sports.
The FIFA 2023 Women's World Cup reportedly generated the most revenue in the tournament's history and became the most attended event in Women's World Cup history.
With the addition of two more teams in 2024, the NWSL signed the largest broadcast deal in women's sports in 2023 and set attendance records for the league.
The WNBA's New York Liberty hosted the largest crowd in league history for Game 3 of the WNBA Finals at Barclays Center.
Perhaps the most important women's sports record broken in 2023 was when the University of Nebraska women's volleyball team set a world record for attendance at a women's sporting event.
Nebraska Volleyball Day, held at Memorial Stadium, the school's football stadium, drew 92,003 fans, surpassing the 2022 Barcelona-Wolfsburg soccer match of 91,648 fans. It surpassed the previous world record for fans.
Our support for women's sports has been an even greater achievement than our university attendance record. “The ripple effect is tremendous,” said Doug Ewald, chief financial officer and executive associate AD at the University of Nebraska. “The economic impact of a typical Saturday home football weekend is $12 million to $13 million. The economic impact of this event to the city of Lincoln, Nebraska was over $10 million.”
Ewald added that an additional $2 million was added in social value alone that day. “To this day, it still keeps on giving.”
LINCOLN, NE – AUGUST 30: General view of the court during the Nebraska Interstate game … [+]
A record for attendance was set on the anniversary of a major milestone in women's sports. “When we set this up, it was really a celebration of his 50th anniversary of Title IX,” Ewald said. Title IX protects students from sex discrimination in any educational program or activity that receives federal financial aid. “Let's be honest: There's no better way to celebrate women here in Nebraska and across the country than by setting a world record.”
Excitement for women's sports was evident on Volleyball Day in Nebraska, and it was equally evident with Kansas City Current's investment in a new stadium.
“As the first stadium built specifically for a women's professional sports team, CPKC Stadium is in many ways a proof of concept,” Current co-owner Chris Long said. “This will prove that investment and stadium ownership is key to the success of women's sport. It will provide the revenue stream needed to reinvest in the player and fan experience. , it won’t be the last.”
Current’s stadium isn’t the only one strongly positioning women’s sports for 2024.
Globally, the 2024 Paris Olympics will feature an equal number of male and female athletes for the first time in history. In addition, two new women's professional sports leagues, the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWSL) and the Professional Volleyball Federation, were already launched in January. The latter set a record for attendance for women's professional volleyball in the first game.
From world records to landmark stadiums, the excitement for women's sports continues in 2024.
