After decades of making do with leftovers and scraps, women’s sports teams now officially have a seat at the table in Illinois.
“That codification is everything,” Karen Leetzow, president of the NWSL’s Chicago Stars, which led the push for the change, told USA TODAY Sports. “When you look at history, so many examples (of inequities) exist and, absent legislation, nothing changes. To have it codified and to bring attention to past inequities and make sure that those don’t happen in the future, is huge.”
The Stars aren’t asking for money. Not yet, anyway. Neither are the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. That’s not the point.
No women’s team has ever gotten public funding for a facility in Illinois. Or most other states, for that matter. The idea they’d dare even ask is met with incredulousness — and, let’s be honest, a healthy dose of condescending misogyny — while no one is surprised when a men’s team puts its hand out.
By making this change, the Illinois legislature is sending a strong message that, in this state at least, women’s teams are of equal value and worth to men’s teams. That if the state has resources, the Stars and the Sky have as much right to them as the Chicago Bears, Chicago White Sox and any other team.
Now, before the Neanderthals start howling that women’s teams don’t make money or that men’s teams should get preference because they do, let’s remember that men’s professional sports have at least a half-century head start on women’s teams. And for much of that existence, they’ve been bolstered by public support.
That means the public built or helped build the stadiums and arenas in which they play and the infrastructure that made them accessible to fans. The same stadiums and arenas that are a significant source of their wealth.
Take the White Sox. While they technically are tenants at Rate Field, they own the stadium for all intents and purposes. They reportedly pay less than $2 million a year in rent for a ballpark built with public funds and, in return, get to keep the revenue from ticket sales, concessions, parking and merchandise. The team also gets the bulk of the profits from the naming rights deal.
The White Sox signage is permanent. So, too, the spaces used by the players. Oh, the White Sox also get to set the calendar at Rate Field. If there’s a concert or some other non-baseball event at the ballpark, it has to work with the White Sox’s schedule and wishes.
The Stars, meanwhile, are basically house guests at SeatGeek Stadium in suburban Bridgeview — as they were not so subtly reminded last summer.
After the season had begun, the Stars learned that village officials planned to stage Riot Fest, a three-day punk, rock and alternative music festival, on the stadium grounds the same weekend the Stars had a home game. Nothing says professional like the sweet, sweet sounds of St. Vincent and Beck drowning out the P.A.!
Riot Fest wound up being moved, but that’s immaterial. The Stars have no control over their facility, financially or otherwise, which makes it hard — not impossible, but really, really hard — to build valuation.
Still not convinced? According to Forbes, the Kansas City Current’s $36 million in revenue last season was the most in the NWSL, more than $10 million more than the third-place San Diego Wave and triple that of eight clubs.
Why such a gap? Because the Current last year opened the first purpose-built stadium for a women’s team and is now reaping the benefits. This year, in fact, Forbes estimates the Current will generate $45 million in revenue.
“As women’s sports grow, we ought to have facilities of our own that we can monetize so hopefully we can grow,” Leetzow said. “Without those resources, we are literally being starved. That is not going to help us move forward.”
The Stars have already said they are planning to leave the geographically undesirable SeatGeek Stadium when their lease expires at the end of this season. The team prefers to train and play in the city, and is exploring its options.
This doesn’t mean the Stars will ask the state for money. But for the first time in their existence, it’s an option. And that is another sign of progress, to have access to what men’s teams have always had.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.