Together, the disputes reflect a new era for the Sky and the league, one where millions of dollars are at stake.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a big change. <\/p>\n
For much of the Sky\u2019s history, ownership meant absorbing losses in service of a social mission, not capturing meaningful upside. As recently as 2023, the Sky had trouble raising money at an $85 million valuation<\/a>. Now, one investor estimates the franchise is worth closer to $350 million.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all of a sudden real money for people,\u201d that investor told the Sun-Times.<\/p>\n So what happens when a small community built on belief becomes a booming business?<\/p>\n The Sun-Times spoke with early investors, fans and players to understand how the meaning of the Sky is changing.<\/p>\n What role should the team\u2019s purpose-driven investors play now?<\/p>\n In 2006, Linda Friedman understood that the Sky would be different from an NBA or NFL franchise. Instead of being funded by a single billionaire, it would be backed by a group of mission-driven owners.<\/p>\n Alter pitched the investment to her in feminist terms. He asked her to imagine young boys attending games in jerseys bearing women\u2019s names, and how that might shape their understanding of the value women bring to a team.<\/p>\n It resonated with Friedman, a lawyer whose life\u2019s work, she says, has been \u201cfighting Wall Street on gender and race.\u201d<\/p>\n The mission would be to help create opportunities for players, coaches and fans who otherwise might not have them. Over two decades, she tried to do her part. She bought blocks of tickets and gave them away. She provided pro bono work for the team\u2019s charitable arm.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Alter absorbed the financial losses. Friedman estimates he loaned the team roughly $30 million over the years to keep the team afloat, and has never gotten proper recognition.<\/p>\n Now, the lawsuit against him bothers her.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat kills me about that lawsuit is that instead of saying thank you for hanging in there because now I have something of tremendous value, it\u2019s just all the criticism,\u201d Friedman told the Sun-Times. \u201cIt\u2019s not about truth. It\u2019s about money.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Friedman said she never expected a financial return from the Sky. The return, for her, was walking into a Sky game and seeing a different crowd than at Wrigley Field or Soldier Field. Not just \u201cprivileged kids from the suburbs,\u201d but families and young fans who otherwise might not have experienced professional sports.<\/p>\n Now she wonders whether that original mission can survive the league\u2019s financial ascent, or whether Wintrust Arena could start to resemble those other venues in a few years.<\/p>\n \u201cA good part of me would like to have my money back to invest in a similar cause because I think it\u2019s so needed,\u201d she said. \u201cI really enjoyed being a part of this, but to me, the \u2018this\u2019 has changed. The need to have purpose-driven, mission-driven people support and build a league has changed. The billionaires want a part. And that\u2019s in the last two years.\u201d<\/p>\n What does the boom feel like to longtime fans?<\/p>\n When the Sky announced they would play their inaugural season at the UIC Pavilion in 2006, Leslie Pilot-Gatton was thrilled. Her daughter was just beginning to fall in love with basketball, and season tickets felt like a way to support that interest.<\/p>\n On the city\u2019s South Side, organized basketball opportunities for girls were limited. Pilot-Gatton often found herself driving north so her daughter could play.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really important to have the Sky, for girls to be able to go out and watch women play basketball and have something to look up to,\u201d Pilot-Gatton told the Sun-Times.<\/p>\n When the team moved to Rosemont\u2019s Allstate Arena from 2010 to 2017, she attended fewer games. But when the Sky returned to the city at Wintrust Arena near McCormick Place, Pilot-Gatton bought season tickets again, this time some of the best seats in the house.<\/p>\n Her fandom reflects the sense of pride and stewardship many women\u2019s basketball fans feel. She tries \u2014 and often succeeds \u2014 at getting others hooked. She once brought her trainer, a father of young girls, to a game, and he became a season ticket holder the following season.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Leslie Pilot-Gatton (center) converts her personal trainer (Erik Treese, left) and family into a season ticket holder.<\/p>\n Despite her love for the Bears and White Sox, she calls the Sky \u201cthe best game in town\u201d because they play more of a team game. It excites her the way the energy in the stadium has grown as the league\u2019s profile has risen.<\/p>\n During the 2025 season, the Sky played two sellout games at the United Center<\/a> and averaged nearly 10,000. Popularity, however, has come with rising prices: Pilot-Gatton paid $30 per game during the 2021 championship season. Now those same seats cost about $145.<\/p>\n She worries about what that could mean for the crowd\u2019s makeup. Part of what she loves about the Sky, she said, is that fans come in \u201call shapes and sizes and ages and colors.\u201d But she plans to renew as long as she can afford it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want them to leave,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n She just hopes rising ticket prices will translate into higher salaries and better resources for players \u2014 and that those players can become \u201cmore a part of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n How has player power changed?<\/p>\n Holding tightly to what you have has long been part of women\u2019s basketball, especially when the WNBA was young and resources were slim.<\/p>\n In the Sky\u2019s inaugural season in 2006, minimum salaries for players were $30,000. The team practiced at Moody Bible Institute. Their athletic trainer also served as equipment manager and director of basketball operations.<\/p>\n Still, the circumstances didn\u2019t bother Chelsea Newton, then in her second year in the league.<\/p>\n \u201cYou got to understand: I came from Sacramento in the expansion draft. We just won the championship,\u201d Newton told the Sun-Times. \u201cYou\u2019re on cloud nine. Like, this is amazing. I don\u2019t care how much money I get paid.\u201d<\/p>\n Housing was covered. Cars were paid for. Mostly, they were grateful to have a league to play in.<\/p>\n![\"leslie.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/fcc5716\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3118x2880+0+0\/resize\/840x776!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F1a%2Ff1%2F928d15e24a1bb8bcbe857a6d285f%2Fleslie.jpg\")
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