Chicago Red Stars: NWSL team set for new ownership as female-led investor group fronted by Cubs and Sky co-owner Laura Ricketts agrees deal to take over from Arnim Whisler
Chicago Red Stars: NWSL team poised for new ownership as female-led investor group led by Cubs and Sky co-owner Laura Ricketts agrees to acquire Arnim Whisler
A female-led group of Chicago investors led by Laura Ricketts has reached a deal in principle to buy the Red Stars from the NWSL, it has been confirmed.
Chicago Red Stars has been on the market since majority owner Arnim Whisler put the women’s soccer team up for sale last December, a decision that was celebrated by players and fans alike amid fierce calls to leave.
Following the release of the Sally Yates report in October 2022, which accused Whisler and Portland Thorns owner Merritt Paulson of abusive behavior and minimizing sexual misconduct complaints about their respective coaches, Red Stars players released a collective statement declaring they asked for his departure.
“We agree with the Board of Directors in their decision to completely remove Whisler from the organization and look forward to finding a new majority shareholder who can help us realize the full potential that we as players always knew existed for this club,” the statement said. said.
And eight months after Whisler put the club up for sale, the Red Stars are now on the verge of a takeover after a group made up mostly of Chicago businesswomen reached a deal to buy him out at SeatGeek Stadium.
A women-led group led by Laura Ricketts (center) has agreed to buy Chicago Red Stars
Chicago Red Stars have been on the market since majority owner Arnim Whisler put them up for sale last December
The consortium, led by Chicago Cubs and Sky co-owner Ricketts, announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement in principle to acquire Chicago’s women’s soccer team.
“I am honored to lead this group of Chicago business and community leaders in our effort to purchase the Chicago Red Stars,” Ricketts said in a statement.
“Our respective backgrounds in professional sports, finance, turnaround management, commercial real estate, marketing and advertising, combined with our deep community ties, make for a powerful combination that will serve us well in our ultimate goal of building a championship organization and out of the field.’
In addition to Ricketts, other businesswomen involved in the deal to buy Chicago Red Stars include Debra Cafaro, CEO of Ventas and co-owner of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins; Sideny Dillard, a partner at Loop Capital in Chicago; Jennifer Pritzker, CEO of TAWANI Enterprises; and Impact Engine CEO Jessica Droste Yagan.
Entrepreneur Tom O’Reilly of the Engelhardt Family Office is the only male member of the Red Stars’ proposed new ownership group.
Terms of the deal have yet to be announced, and the group now needs approval from the NWSL’s board of directors to proceed with the sale.
“We wholeheartedly believe in and are excited about the future of the Red Stars and the NWSL,” Ricketts continued. “There’s been an unprecedented growth of fans in women’s soccer worldwide, and we want to be a part of building that momentum here in Chicago.”
The club, which plays its matches at SeatGeek Stadium, is now about to change hands
Ricketts’ family has owned the Chicago Cubs baseball team since acquiring 95 percent of the franchise in 2009. Laura joined her brothers Thomas, Pete, and Todd on the board, with all three siblings sharing ownership.
She was also a member of the ownership group that closed an $8.5 million deal for 10 percent of WNBA team Chicago Sky earlier this summer.
The Red Stars have spent the past decade in the NWSL, making the playoffs in each of the past seven seasons, including trips to the championship game in 2019 and 2021.