{"id":562683,"date":"2026-03-26T19:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T19:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/562683\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T19:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T19:18:09","slug":"womens-soccer-must-prioritize-path-to-profitability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/562683\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s soccer must prioritize path to profitability"},"content":{"rendered":"

A day after a panel of women\u2019s soccer executives<\/a> emphasized patience over profits, the NWSL\u2019s newest owner warned that deprioritizing the bottom line is \u201ca very dangerous philosophy\u201d for the long-term success of the sport. <\/p>\n

Arthur Blank, who last year paid a $165M expansion fee<\/a> to bring an NWSL franchise to Atlanta, used some of his time on stage Thursday at the SBJ Business of Soccer conference to push back on a panel discussion from the previous day in which executives from the NWSL, Gainbridge Super League and Northern Super League emphasized attracting investors willing to prioritize long-term growth over near-term profitability. <\/p>\n

Blank, however, said that as owners become more sophisticated and invest more capital to get involved in women\u2019s soccer, it is critical to demonstrate a credible path to profitability, rather than relying on future growth and rising enterprise values. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou have investors who are getting much more sophisticated,\u201d Blank said. \u201cThey\u2019re not just interested at the end of the day in what\u2019s the revenue and what\u2019s the multiple of revenues, but where\u2019s the bottom line and when do we get our return? I\u2019m not talking about thinking short-term. You should never have an investor in any sports business that\u2019s only thinking short-term. But over the horizon, where\u2019s the potential of getting a return?\u201d <\/p>\n

Speaking at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the NWSL franchise will begin play in 2028, Blank expressed confidence the venue will serve as a fitting long-term home, much as it has for Atlanta United. Like Atlanta United, which has led MLS in attendance since its 2017 debut, Blank believes the stadium\u2019s scale will allow his NWSL club to push the upper bounds of women\u2019s soccer attendance. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a world-class facility for men, and it can be a world-class facility for women,\u201d Blank said. \u201cWe\u2019ll build the locker rooms and make the adjustments we have to make, but it\u2019s designed to accommodate, at a minimum, around 28,000 fans. \u2026 I didn\u2019t want to put limits on attendance. I don\u2019t like putting limits on anything in that regard, whether it be soccer or American football. So, the women, they\u2019ll be playing here.\u201d <\/p>\n

Lessening media dependence<\/p>\n

Blank also asserted that soccer, like most sports, will need to find ways to grow revenue beyond media rights. He echoed recent comments by PGA Tour Commissioner Brian Rolapp<\/a> that as the NFL continues to command a larger share of media companies\u2019 budgets, other properties will need to adapt. <\/p>\n

\u201c[Rolapp] said all these sports need to think about how we grow revenue beyond just media distribution. We\u2019ve got to figure out ways to grow our revenue in other areas, because our distribution partners — our media partners — have a limited amount of dollars, particularly the traditional ones. So where those dollars go today is going to be divided in many different ways.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ode to Garber <\/p>\n

Asked about MLS Commissioner Don Garber\u2019s impact on soccer in North America, Blank referenced the likelihood that the commissioner\u2019s nearly three-decade tenure could end following the expiration of his current contract in 2027<\/a>. He shed a \u201ctear of emotion\u201d while speaking about his long-standing relationship with the man he called the \u201cgodfather of soccer.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s like a brother to me, and I\u2019m honored to always be with Don,\u201d Blank said. \u201cI always enjoy listening to him. I learn from him every time. His passion for the sport, his passion for fans, his passion for players, his passion for ownership, sponsors and our media partners always comes across.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A day after a panel of women\u2019s soccer executives emphasized patience over profits, the NWSL\u2019s newest owner warned…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":562684,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,573,8081,561,82,4143],"class_list":["post-562683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mls","tag-nwsl","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-womens-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=562683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/562684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=562683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}