For many years, women’s sports have lived in the shadow of men’s sporting events, drawing fewer fans, earning a fraction of a male athlete’s salary, and having to use unsuitable equipment and playing fields. Now the tides have changed, and people are finally realizing that sometimes, women can be as good as, or better than, men in sports, which means they are receiving equal opportunities.
On March 16, 2024, a new stadium opened in Kansas City, but this facility isn’t just any other stadium. This is the first field that is fully owned by a professional women’s soccer club. While this is a huge step forward for female athletes, the road to equality has been rocky. According to an article published by AP News in February of this year, women were prohibited from playing in men’s stadiums a century ago. This ban, amongst others, remained in effect for the next five decades. While the bans were eventually lifted, it still took a lot of time for women’s soccer to become more widely recognized by the public. After the bans were removed, the U.S. saw the births of many individual women’s leagues, and before long, the National Women’s Soccer League was born. Today, the NWSL is home to fourteen professional teams, and many do not have the luxury of owning a stadium.
Currently, the majority of NWSL teams must use men’s facilities. An article written by ESPN in March states, “Most NWSL teams are second- or third-priority tenants in stadiums built for men’s teams.” Many clubs must rent the space to be able to play their matches. For this reason, the building of CPKC Stadium rocked the world of women’s soccer and women’s sports as a whole. According to AP News, KC Current started as FC Kansas City, which used high school fields, college stadiums, and the training field of Sporting KC before they moved to Children’s Mercy Park. The park is owned by Kansas City’s men’s soccer team. Now, KC Current is blazing the trail with their $118 million stadium. Current’s ownership group worked to raise $18 million for a training facility and then took the steps to start construction on CPKC Stadium. Having a facility that is strictly owned by them allows the team to schedule games and control revenue freely. The addition of this stadium helped KC Current make history.
On March 16 of this year, Kansas City Current played their first home match against the Portland Thorns, scoring five goals and taking their first win of the 2024 season. According to NWSL Soccer, the game drew 11,500 fans. Those who bought tickets can consider themselves lucky, as tickets for the entire season have been sold out. Some fans are concerned that they don’t have enough seats for everyone attending the Kansas City matches.
At last, female athletes are seeing recognition. Women’s sporting events are gaining more and more views as people realize that these athletes are worth watching. When views go up, society has no choice but to give women the same benefits as men.
