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Construction Started on First U.S. Stadium Solely for Women’s Pro Soccer

Kansas City Current is set to start playing in the waterfront stadium in 2024.

Ananya Panchal

KC Current players celebrate a goal against the Chicago Red Star at Children’s Mercy Park, which the team will move out of in two years. 

Women’s pro soccer has reached a major milestone. Kansas City Current is getting its own stadium, making it the first National Women’s Soccer League franchise to have a dedicated arena. The $117 million project is set to be completed in 2024. The stadium is located at Berkley Riverfront Park and is projected to have a capacity of 11,500.

“Our team is the primary tenant in the stadium and that is such a different thing than playing in someone else’s stadium,” said Current co-owner Angie Long. “It means that you control the branding. You control the schedule.”

Long added, “Then there’s the softer side of things. We had some of our players say to us after we opened the training center, ‘Wow, this is the first time I’ve walked into the weight room and it’s our logo and not the men’s team or the university. This is ours. That sense of ownership brings out the best. They want to play for them(selves).”

The new KC Current stadium officially broke ground on Thursday, Oct. 6 and hundreds of fans came to celebrate alongside team personnel, players and the ownership group, including Brittany Mahomes, wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is an investor.

“This city was built on this river, and we want to find ways to activate it. People are arriving via boat to our matches,” said co-owner Chris Long of the new stadium site on the banks of the Missouri River. 

The stadium is set to eventually house lacrosse and rugby teams as well.

“I think it’ll be an incredible riverfront amphitheater, an intimate setting for concerts,” Chris Long added. “We want the community, to feel like it’s theirs.”

NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman recognized the significance this holds for women everywhere. “People have always talked about women’s sports as something that’s focused on purpose, and it is very mission driven,” she told SportsBeat KC. “We know that when we watch these athletes on the pitch it changes the way we see girls and women in our society.”

The franchise began play as an expansion team in 2021 and finished last in the 10-team league. The team currently sits in fifth place in the standings.

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Ananya Panchal

ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a NYC-based Lifestyle & Trending News writer at SI Swimsuit. Before joining the Swim team, the Boston University Alum worked for culture & entertainment beats at Bustle, The San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When Ananya is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, she can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast.