Following KC Current’s lead, English soccer club plans stadium for women’s team
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KC Current bills CPKC Stadium as the first stadium purpose-built for a women's team.
- Denver Summit plans a 14,500-seat purpose-built stadium and district set to open in 2028.
- Brighton announced a purpose-built women’s stadium of at least 10,000 seats for 2030–31.
The Kansas City Current’s world-renowned soccer facilities are leading a revolutionary charge of purpose-built facilities across the Atlantic.
The Current tout CPKC Stadium as the first such venue in the world constructed primarily for a women’s professional sports team. Led by co-owners Chris and Angie Long, the Current organization has also built team training facilities in nearby Riverside.
The club is now in the process of building out Berkeley Riverfront around the 11,500-seat CPKC Stadium, with hotels, shops and bars in the works — including some already established. Apartments there are also currently under construction.
Whether directly influenced by the Current or otherwise, fellow women’s pro soccer clubs around the world are weighing and pursuing similar investments.
Another National Women’s Soccer League team, the expansion Denver Summit, is planning to build a 14,500-seat stadium that would open in 2028. Designed by KC-based architecture firm Populous, it, too, will also feature a surrounding entertainment/residential district. It’s poised to be the first purpose-built sports district for professional women’s sports in Colorado.
In Europe, Portuguese football (soccer) club SC Braga opened 2,500-seat Estádio Amélia Morais for its women’s team, second team and training squads last February. It’s considered the first stadium built for women’s soccer in Portugal.
And on Tuesday, English club Brighton and Hove Albion announced plans to build a stadium for its women’s team; it is set to open in time for use during the 2030-31 season. Brighton and Hove Albion would become the first British or European club with a purpose-built women’s stadium, as it would be occupied solely by the women’s side.
That stadium is expected to seat at least 10,000 and cost around $100 million in U.S. money. It will be connected to the men’s team’s arena, American Express Stadium, under the moniker “Built for Her.”
“It is something we are asked about constantly, and we have worked hard to reach this moment, so it is exciting now to share this news with the wider world,” club managing director Zoe Johnson said in a news release.
The British team sits in sixth place at the moment in the Women’s Super League, England’s top women’s league.
“It will help us push forward our ambitions to compete consistently both domestically in the Women’s Super League,” Johnson said, “and also in European club competition, while helping us to attract key staff and grow a passionate fan base. We also hope the stadium can support academy and development fixtures, giving more of our younger players valuable experience of playing in a purpose-built stadium environment.”
The Longs are co-owners of both the KC Current and the HB Køge women’s team in Denmark. And managing two women’s clubs puts the Current’s decision-makers in a pretty straightforward position when it comes to growing their own facilities and footprint.
Many other teams around the world are owned and controlled by the owners of men’s clubs, who pick and choose where to invest.
The Current organization sent its congratulations to the Brighton and Hove Albion group via social media.
“What started in KC has now changed the women’s game globally & raised the bar forever,” the Current said on X.
