A Chicago Red Stars sale to an investment group led by Laura Ricketts, part of the family owning the Chicago Cubs, is under review by the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Board of Governors.
“I am honored to lead this group of Chicago business and civic leaders in our effort to purchase the Chicago Red Stars,” Ricketts said in a press statement. “Our respective backgrounds in professional sports, finance, turnaround management, commercial real estate, marketing and advertising, paired with our deep community ties, make for a powerful combination that will serve us well in our ultimate goal: building a championship organization on and off the pitch.”
Red Stars owner Armin Whisler was one of the NWSL owners called out in an investigation of sexual misconduct and emotional abuse throughout the league. That led Whisler to announce late in 2022 that a Chicago Red Stars sale would begin.
The new owners, per a press release, includes a “diverse group of Chicago women business and civic leaders.” The price of the purchase, per multiple outlets, was $36 million.
The team plays at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois, a first-tier Chicago suburb. It seats 20,000. But the soccer stadium situation in Chicago is unsettled: MLS’s Chicago Fire plays out of Soldier Field, and the future of that stadium is partly dependent on what the Chicago Bears do.
Ricketts is also a minority investor in the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.
Photo courtesy Chicago Red Stars.