Women’s professional sports, and professional soccer in particular, has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past few decades. Not unlike society’s much longer gender equity arc, the battle started as one for equal opportunity and evolved into one for equal pay. Neither battle is over, clearly, but tremendous strides have been made. Historic recent wins by the United States Women’s National Team (equal pay in their Collective Bargaining Agreement) and the WNBA (charter flights and media rights) are just two examples. But, as always, challenges remain.

As new leagues rise (the USL’s Super League debuted last month) here in the U.S. and around the world, the next battle seems likely to be for proper facilities. As the recent row at global powerhouse Manchester United and the embarrassing training accommodations at the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament made clear, putting women on equal footing includes ensuring that they can train and play in equitable, appropriate, and accommodating facilities. So how do leagues, clubs, and teams make that happen?

A Patchy History

Historically, women’s professional soccer teams have had to make do with substandard facilities. Early professional teams here in the States often played on high school fields or in local parks rather than facilities reflecting their elite athletic stature. Many had no locker rooms or showers, no training facilities, and no therapy equipment or staffs.

And it isn’t just in the U.S. A 2022 study aimed at elevating women’s soccer in the UK revealed disparities ranging from limited and inequitable facilities to inadequate locker rooms and poor-quality training equipment. This inequality in facilities can affect player health, development, and performance, of course, but it can impact player self-worth and morale as well, as women come to believe or accept that they deserve less. They shouldn’t and don’t.

Rising Standards

The good news is, standards are rising. In many places, quickly. The Kansas City Current opened the very first women’s professional sports stadium in the country this spring to sellout crowds and rave reviews. The USL Super League demanded that its inaugural markets and franchises provide venues with at least 5,000 seats for participating teams. Capacity isn’t the only mark of equitability, obviously. But the needle is moving, and in the right direction.

The Path Forward

The question is, if you’re a community or team looking to catch the cresting wave of women’s soccer here in America, how do you create stadiums and facilities that are equivalent and suitable to the quality of athletes and competition you’ll be hosting? As a real estate development advisory firm steeped in American soccer and specializing in sports-anchored mixed-use developments, here are our eight suggestions:

1. Ask Around

Primary research is always a good first step. Start by talking to your female players and staff and getting their input on decisions related to facility design, management, and operations. This will ensure that their specific needs and preferences are not only taken into account, but that you get new ideas and better, more inclusive, more practical facilities, too. It’s a practice the USL already incorporates.

“Integrating women’s teams early in the stadium development process is key,” said USL Deputy Chief Executive Officer & Chief Real Estate Officer Justin Papadakis. “As part of the pre-development phase, we’re incorporating a clear inclusion and recognition plan to ensure women’s teams are part of the conversation from day one. This means setting expectations for equal access to resources and creating a culture where visibility and equity are essential to how women’s teams are integrated into the stadium’s operations.”

2. Set High Standards

Facility design priorities typically and understandably start with fan experience and revenue-generating assets. The player experience, consequently, is not often prioritized enough. But when you apply the same high standards to things like your locker rooms and training facilities that you do to aesthetics and suites, you might be surprised at their impact not just on performance but also your club’s reputation.

3. Budget Appropriately

No matter your vision, money is always going to be an issue. So start by programming your ideal scenario, including the minimums you want for every space and amenity. Keep your team brand and culture in mind as you contemplate each one. Then, from that initial program, you’ll be able to consider the budget, establish your true priorities, and make those sometimes-difficult final decisions.

4. Plan For Multiple Teams

If you want to maximize value from your venue, it needs to have the capacity to host multiple teams, often on the same day. That means having enough equitable facilities for both women and men. Multiple, separate, appropriate locker rooms, referee rooms, and other spaces aren’t just common sense, they’re culturally and commercially savvy, as Lexington Sporting Club CEO Kim Shelton knows.

“Our goal is to create a stadium that not only inspires our players but also serves as a model for excellence in soccer infrastructure,” said Shelton, who’s overseen the USL club’s new $80 million soccer-specific stadium and training facilities project. “With four locker rooms dedicated for men’s and women’s home and away teams, offices for our coaching staff, and two referee rooms, we’re making sure every element supports peak performance for all and provides a matchday atmosphere that’s second to none, all while prioritizing safety and the needs of our teams.”

5. Provide Bespoke Amenities

We may not think of locker rooms, showers, and other amenities as needing to be different for different athletes, but that’s old-standard thinking. The new standard for women includes things like appropriate furniture and fixtures, private toilet and shower stalls, lockers designed for their needs, personal comfort and hygiene items, and other features unique to the club and its athletes. Female athletes have unique needs and should not have to settle for facilities and amenities that have historically been designed by and for men.

6. Think Beyond The Stadium

All teams spend far more time utilizing their training facilities than their competition venues. That’s why those spaces need just as much focus. Clubs must ensure that their women’s teams have access to high-quality training pitches, state-of-the-art gyms, and first-rate medical and physiotherapy space and equipment, but also childcare facilities and space and amenities for nursing mothers. Making necessary investments in these areas demonstrates a true commitment to the well-being and professional development of women players.

“Being a footballer is more than just the time you spend on the field,” says Tampa Bay Sun midfielder and former National Team player Erika Tymrak. “It’s recovering, doing your rehab, getting treatment/massage, watching film/preparing tactically, fueling your body properly and loading your body in the gym so it’s ready to perform on the pitch. Tampa Bay Sun provides us with top-of-the line facilities so we can be the best pros possible. Our training pitch is world class and is steps away from our facility. We have a gym, recovery, training room, locker room, film room/players’ lounge, and meal room all under one roof. We’re very fortunate to have a facility that gives us all the tools necessary to be the best athletes we can.”

7. Schedule Equitably

This isn’t as much a design principle as an equitability one: If you’re sharing a facility between men’s and women’s teams, make sure the women’s side has equal access to training and match facilities with their male counterparts. This includes equitable scheduling for practice times, games, and access to staff. Training, physical therapy, and childcare all take time, and everyone wants those responsibilities to fit their schedules. Understanding those realities, having those conversations, and scheduling with them in mind will help both teams feel equally valued by the organization.

“Our approach is rooted in fostering inclusion from the start,” Papadakis added. “We’re committed to ensuring that our female professional players have equal access to space and amenities, from locker rooms to scheduling programming. It’s not about adding new elements, it’s about ensuring that every decision meets professional standards for both men and women equally.”

8. Get Creative

Creating athletic facilities and amenities uniquely for women isn’t just a necessity now, it’s an opportunity. The continued rise of women’s sports is bringing new brands, markets, and industry sectors into the sponsorship sphere. Your facilities offer unique opportunities for these brands to promote themselves and the women’s game while connecting with your team and community. Finding ways to help them do that can be good for all involved.

The journey toward equality in professional women’s soccer is ongoing. The strides made in securing equal opportunity and equal pay are commendable, but achieving true equality requires equivalent facilities as well. By addressing existing facility inequalities and creating new, mindful, standard-setting facilities going forward, we can ensure that the future of women’s soccer is as equitable as it is bright.

 

Ready to plan, fund, design, build, or optimize your facility? Contact McCullers Group founder and president Mark McCullers at mark@mccullersgroup.com for three decades of experience and insight.