A Current of Change
The opening of the first stadium built for a women's professional sport team is just the beginning.
On Saturday morning, I witnessed the ribbon cutting for the first stadium purpose-built for a women’s professional sports team: CPKC Stadium, home of the Kansas City Current.
It was quite the scene.
There were thousands of fans dressed in head-to-toe teal and red. There was a man with teal face paint and a red sparkly beard (@thatTealguy on Twitter). There were kids. Babies. A bright blue sky. A brisk breeze off the Missouri River. Reporters and their camera crews. Print media. Influencers taking selfie videos on their phones. A DJ. A hype squad. An appearance from rapper and Kansas City native Tech N9ne. Balloon arches. A mini train decked out in Current logos (CPKC stands for Canadian Pacific Kansas City, as in the railroad, in case you were curious).
The crowd counted down, and owners Angie and Chris Long and Brittany and Patrick Mahomes (yes, that Patrick Mahomes) cut the ribbon. Just like that, CPKC Stadium was open for business.
When her gates officially opened moments later for the National Women’s Soccer League’s regular season opener between the Current and the Portland Thorns, in poured 11,500 fans (myself included)—a sellout for the first-ever match within her confines.
The match itself, which was broadcast nationally on ABC, rivaled the intensity and energy of the pregame festivities with 9 goals scored (9!) in a 5-4 Current win. Crazier still, the 9 goals were scored by 6 different players, including 16-year-old Alex Pfeiffer who was making her NWSL debut for the Current and is now the youngest goal scorer in NWSL history—because why not make more history on an already historic day?!
Call it fate. Call it the goodwill of the sports gods. Call it great planning and coaching. Call it whatever you want.
But I’m going to call it perfect. (High praise from a Type A firstborn perfectionist with a lifelong habit of building expectations to an unattainable threshold!)
There was one thing, though—just the one—that felt a little strange to me as I reflected on the day.
I realized I hadn’t cried.
Truthfully, I didn’t even get teary-eyed. Not once.
I’m a Crier with a capital ‘C’, okay? And if you know me at all you know I’m adamant about equity for women’s sports and spend A LOT of time yelling into the void about it. So me not crying at the grand opening of the first women’s sports stadium in the world . . . that’s like not having a butter cow at the Iowa State Fair or popcorn at a movie theater. It didn’t feel right.
But then a friend asked me what I will remember most from the day, and my lack of tears suddenly made sense. I told him I’ll remember the feeling that the grand opening of CPKC Stadium wasn’t a celebration of “we’ve made it!” but instead a reminder that “this is what we’ve always deserved and this is only the beginning, so buckle up.”
My best example: When co-owner Patrick Mahomes came into the plaza for the ribbon cutting, he wasn’t mobbed by fans. To be honest, only a handful of fans left their lines to get into the stadium to see Patrick.
Do you hear what I’m saying? I’m saying Patrick Mahomes, arguably the biggest sports star in the world, wasn’t the draw—the draw was the Kansas City Current, a women’s sports team, and CPKC Stadium, a stadium built for women.
So, no, I didn’t cry. But not because the day wasn’t beautiful. It was. But it was beautiful in the way a volcano eruption is beautiful before you better get the hell out of the way.
So get ready to move, world, because the Current is changing.
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To Chris, Angie, Brittany, and Patrick: Thank you for setting the tone and showing the world that women deserve the best and their own. I am forever grateful.
To Kansas City: Thank you for showing the world that women’s sports belong everywhere. You’re my home away from home.
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