At last week’s espnW Summit NYC, the panel “Purpose-Built: Facilities for Women’s Sports” addressed the building of women’s sport-specific stadiums and facilities. As an example, last year, the New York Liberty announced a dedicated 75,000-square-foot state-of-the-art practice facility being built in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and projected to open in 2027.
“Purpose-built is about intentionality,” said Sherri Privitera, senior principal women’s professional sports director of Populous, a global architecture and design firm that designed the Liberty’s facility. “It can be intentional for the user of a training facility, like our athletes and coaches, and it can be intentional for … women’s sports fans.”
There are substantial business advantages for a team that controls its venue, including having access to major sponsorship assets, such as naming rights. It also means controlling scheduling, such as scheduling games on weekends.
Women’s physiology is obviously different from men’s, noted Avi Greene, senior associate and architect at Populous, and those differences were in mind for this project. There are four principles: women’s health, privacy and security, baseline standards, and lifestyle support. At the Liberty’s practice facility, two private lounges will include family and nursery areas.
Populous met one-on-one with Liberty players to discuss needs. Things like the height of training tables matter. “Players tell us they stand in line for the [wheelchair-] accessible shower stall because that’s the only stall that has a removable wand (shower head) — they all don’t want to get their hair wet every time they take a shower,” said Privitera. “We can give every shower stall a removable wand.”
Asrat Alemu, vice president of Ariel Project Level, noted that a challenge for an arena or stadium is capacity-building because women’s sports are rapidly growing. You don’t want a team to outgrow its venue, but you also don’t want to plan too large and have many empty seats. Ideally, there is flexibility to expand capacity over time. Also important is creating optimal fan experiences, such as offering diverse food and beverage options.
“We are starting to analyze a survey we just finished with Deloitte on women’s sports fans,” said Privitera. Having an open mindset and paying attention to details will create enhanced experiences for athletes and fans. “Imagine the potential and what we’re going to be seeing in a few years,” said Greene. “We need to be intentional, so athletes can reach their optimal level of performance.”
The post espnW Summit NYC presents blueprint for women’s sports facilities appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.
