The NWSL has selected Kansas City to host the 2024 NWSL championship, with the new soccer-specific CPKC Stadium named as the site for the final. The championship will air in primetime on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and stream on Paramount+ for a third consecutive year.
The league’s consideration of the venue for the final has been an open secret since the Current’s home opener at the start of the season. It was a decision that also felt inevitable with Kansas City selling out every game so far this season.
“CPKC Stadium epitomizes the explosive growth and investment we are witnessing in
the NWSL, women’s soccer and women’s sports around the world,” NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said in the league’s press release issued on Wednesday.
“It was a natural choice to stage the league’s marquee event in a venue that exemplifies the profound impact of infrastructure, investment and community support on the continued development and success of our sport.”
The NWSL has essentially already guaranteed a sell-out crowd, with the KC venue currently at a capacity of only 11,500. Last year’s championship, held at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, set the new high mark for the league’s championship attendance at 25,011 (Snapdragon has a capacity of 32,000 and last year’s final featured the Seattle Reign and NJ/NY Gotham FC).
It’s official.
Kansas City and @cpkcstadium will host the 2024 NWSL Championship, presented by @googlepixel_us. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/pKNWQNucnz
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) July 3, 2024
The venue’s capacity could quickly present a problem if tickets sell out quickly, more so if resale numbers make the get-in price out of reach for most fans. The previous two championships surpassed 15,000 fans in the stands. The league has not yet revealed any plans for additional programming around the championship, though over the past few years, the final has become more of an event. Kansas City is well known for its outdoor soccer watch parties, having been featured on many U.S. national team broadcasts.
“We have the ability to expand,” Current owner Angie Long told The Athletic ahead of their first home match at CPKC Stadium. “At some point, I mean, I hope we absolutely positively have to. But right now, it’s going to be an amazing environment. That was the most important thing because even when you think about some of the most iconic places to go and watch a game in the U.S. and the world, some of them aren’t the biggest, right? And they still stand out as phenomenal places to experience a game.”
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The NWSL hasn’t chosen to wait for that expansion before sending the championship to KC — and while it may turn the championship into a high-demand ticket, it’s a reward for KC’s massive investment into infrastructure, with $118 million going into the stadium alone.
The Longs, along with co-owners Brittany Mahomes and Patrick Mahomes, opened CPKC Stadium this year. (Photo by Jamie Squire, Getty Images)
The league has also already surpassed one million fans in attendance so far this NWSL season, the earliest the league has managed that number. They’ve reported a 42% increase year-over-year in attendance, and the Chicago Red Stars set the new regular season single-match attendance record earlier this season at Wrigley Field with 35,038 on hand.
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The 2024 postseason will look a little different than last year’s, with the playoff field expanded to eight teams ahead of the league’s next round of expansion. No team will have a bye into the semifinals, with eight teams facing each other in the quarterfinals the weekend of Nov. 9-10, then the semifinals the following weekend on Nov. 16-17.
If the first half of the season is any indication, the Current could end up with a home advantage for this year’s final. The Current remains unbeaten through 15 games played, in first place on the NWSL standings. CPKC Stadium might be on deck for the final, but this weekend should have the intensity and atmosphere of the postseason, with the Current hosting the league’s other unbeaten team, the Orlando Pride, on Saturday.
(Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
