This past week was Epicenter Week in Portland, where the owners of the NWSL’s Thorns and the WNBA’s Fire and Nike hosted a series of events that aimed to both promote women’s sports and consider the future of the industry.
While the “epicenter” moniker may seem a bit hyperbolic, it did feel like, for a few days, Portland was indeed the center of the women’s sports universe.
There was a Thorns’ match that included a tribute to Tobin Heath, who signed a one-day contract so that she could retire with the team. On Sunday, there was a WNBA game where Rose the glitter-breathing dragon mascot was unveiled.
But the marquee event was the Women’s Global Sports Summit at Nike’s Beaverton, Ore. headquarters. This was the second such summit and it featured some of the biggest names in sports, from NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman, to U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson, to South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, to name just a few.
Many of the speakers addressed the burgeoning popularity of women’s sports and how to keep that momentum going (one hint: investment). Because this is Soccer Insider, we’ll look at that side of the summit.
Berman weighs in
In keeping with that general theme, Berman was asked by moderator Sarah Spain about the accelerated growth of the NWSL since she assumed the role of commissioner.
Berman said she focused on the things that were already incredible about the league, mainly the players and the quality of the soccer, and then identified the things that needed to change. There was a list of actions the league took: breaking away from U.S. Soccer, finding committed owners and investing in infrastructure.
And of course, cultivating commercial partners (there’s that investment piece!)
“Then the other the other sort of things that we’ve that we focused on is really just having a commercial lens, valuing ourselves, not discounting the value of our IP. And that was a very intentional decision from a sponsorship, media, and consumer products perspective, and really required our owners to buy in to a long-term vision because we had to walk away from a lot of deals in those early years, and it is still true,” Berman explained. “I think we all really do a good job of conveying that there’s all this momentum and that there are tailwinds and that it’s propelling us forward. And all those things are true. It’s also true that it’s still challenging. You have brands that are like, `How come you know you don’t have 100 million impressions like the NFL?’ It’s like, `Well, we’re not asking for NFL dollars. We’re asking for dollars that are right-sized to the quality of our audience and the reach that we actually have.’ Like, pay us what we’re worth.”
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Call to action
Former NWSL and U.S. national team players Tobin Heath and Lauren Holiday issued a “Call to Action” in the day’s final panel.
There was a light moment when Holiday pleaded with the Trail Blazers not to trade her husband, Jrue Holiday, because they’ve made a home in Portland.
But she said that the goal for women’s sports shouldn’t simply be sustainability.
“The way that we build relationships, the way that we build community, the way that we are able to connect with a fan — if you don’t believe that women can change the entire the entire landscape of sports in general, I think that is the fear and I think that is why it hasn’t happened,” Holiday said. “Because we believe there is a ceiling, and there isn’t, and we haven’t even scratched the surface because we haven’t invested in something. We say it has to be sustainable. That is another word for fear. We’re saying sustainability, sustainability. But what if we just allowed it to happen? What if we actually believe women could do more than what is possible?”
Heath emphasized that women’s sports should think outside the box, so to speak.
“Women’s sports, in my opinion, is the future of sport. To be able to start something, to build on a foundation right now, instead of following a traditional landscape, is actually the advantage of building in women’s sports,” Heath said. “I think that should excite us. I don’t think we should try to attach ourselves to old structures that honestly are trying to figure out how how do we evolve right now, where women’s sports is already evolving, and we actually don’t even know what women’s sports should and can look like yet, because we are just starting to see the liberated versions of ourselves.”
Well said.
Soccer: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer
Tennis: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer
Basketball: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports
Softball: Maren Angus-Coombs, @Maren-Angus, The IX Sports
Golf: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX Sports
Hockey: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden
Gymnastics: Jessica Taylor Price, @jesstaylorprice, Freelance Writer
