Women Continue to Make Waves in Sports
March is women’s history month, and the growth of women’s sports has been at the forefront.
On Saturday, the first stadium purpose-built for a women’s professional sports team opened in Kansas City, Missouri. CPKC Stadium is the new home of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current, which includes Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, as owners.
The Current won the first game in the stadium, triumphing over the Portland Thorns 5-4.
“As the first stadium purpose-built for a professional women’s sports team, CPKC Stadium is a proof of concept in many ways,” Current co-owner Chris Long told Forbes. “It will prove how investment and stadium ownership is the key to success for women’s sports. It provides the revenue streams needed to reinvest in players and the fan experience.”
The opening of CPKC Stadium has been a major highlight of women’s sports this month, but it’s not the only – there’s another clear indicator that people are increasingly interested in women’s sports.
As the NCAA March Madness tournament begins, the get-in price on ticketsforless.com for the women’s championship is $380, and the get-in price for the men’s is $195. That’s without even knowing who is in the final game.
There’s a couple of teams that could be driving the price.
Earlier this month, the conference championships for NCAA women’s basketball took place across the country. Caitlin Clark, the No. 1 pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft, has been a hot topic of conversation the past season as she’s broken several records – including the NCAA’s all-time scoring record – and brought out crowds that have never been seen in women’s college basketball before.
Clark and her team, Iowa, took home the Big Ten conference tournament trophy, and to no surprise, the conference’s tournament had the highest average ticket price compared to any other conference at $128.
The second highest average ticket – $117 – belonged to the SEC, which includes the only undefeated team this season, South Carolina. The Big East, ACC and Pac-12 followed at a respective $86, $80 and $77.
It’s only March, but it’s already been a strong year for women’s sports.
Photo credit: Kansas City Current
