A stadium of her own

Just a few decades ago, the Boston Marathon had a ban on women runners, so athlete Kathrine Switzer signed up for the 1967 edition under the name “K.V. Switzer,” concealing her female identity and allowing her to enter (and finish) the race.

By 1972, the ban was gone, and the picture for female athletes has continued to change for the better since then, as evidenced by rising interest in women’s professional sports. Attendance numbers are on the upswing across the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), and publications like The Seattle Times are increasing their coverage of women’s sports.

Yet many women’s teams, professional or otherwise, still play in outdated arenas or must share men’s teams’ facilities that don’t serve them as well as structures purpose-built for women would. “You might see a facility that [doesn’t] include the things necessary for a women’s locker room versus a men’s locker room,” explains Michelle Smith, the president of Miller Sports + Entertainment, which owns the Utah Royals NWSL team.

The work of architects and designers is helping to push progress along, though. An example is the recently opened CPKC Stadium, designed by Generator Studio in Kansas City, Mo., to be the world’s first stadium purpose-built for professional women athletes. 

One can also look to the myriad projects Perkins&Will has completed that improve collegiate women’s facilities, or to the forthcoming Gensler-designed training facility for the WNBA’s Dallas Wings. On the Dallas Wings project, Gensler senior associate and design manager Anastasia Huggins, AIA, LEED AP, is helping shape a purpose-built environment for performance, recovery, and team culture.

To celebrate such progress and look at the work that remains, the upcoming AIA Women’s Leadership Summit 2026 is hosting a panel titled Leveling Up Women’s Sports Through Equity & Design. Huggins, who is the panel’s moderator, and Smith, who is one of its guests, recently talked to AIA Architect about the benefits of investing in women’s sports, the design decisions that can help female athletes thrive, and what has them excited about the future.

The business, equity, and community cases for elevating women athletes

There’s a strong business case for investing in women’s sports teams and, by extension, their training and competition venues: Women’s pro teams are becoming more and more lucrative. CPKC Stadium, for instance, is on a long streak of selling out its games, and a recent report from Deloitte estimates that global revenue from women’s sports is making a massive leap from $2.4 billion in 2025 to over $3 billion in 2026.

Yet investing in women’s sports does much more than generate money. From her point of view, Huggins says, “Women and girls being able to see facilities built for them sends a message that they are equally as important. … For them to play in a facility that was built for them and not modified for them [after the fact] makes a huge difference.”

Spectators benefit, too, from having inclusive places to come together. As Smith puts it, “Certainly, [games are] about enjoying the sport on the field or court. But ultimately, they’re about gathering together to create memories. And our world needs that. [Those] memories are usually joyful.”

Women’s sports organizations can build memories and community outside of gameday, too. To wit, the new Dallas Wings training facility will host youth basketball camps and let area residents watch the team’s practices, according to its YouTube preview video.

Improvements in progress

So, what kinds of design decisions are improving the game for female athletes? Huggins relays that stadiums and training facilities can add “performance, training, and recovery equipment specific for women–not just men’s equipment that then women have to learn how to use.”

Other helpful features ease players’ schedules off the court or field. “In a lot of the WNBA facilities that [Gensler is] working on right now, we’re integrating spaces like beauty suites instead of barber shops,” says Huggins. (The Dallas Wings’ training center will have one of those spaces.) Facilities are also starting to incorporate spaces such as family rooms, letting mothers go to work without being too far away from their children. 

While CPKC Stadium stands out for its purpose-built dedication to a women’s team (the NWSL’s KC Current), facilities that host both men’s and women’s teams can make progress, too. An inclusive example is the SharkNinja Performance Center, which was designed by Dallas Nelson Architecture. In use by the women of the Utah Royals as well as several men’s and under-18 soccer teams, the facility features an area for nursing mothers and space for children to play, along with high-end training and recovery equipment befitting a professional facility.

Organizations can help multiple teams’ fans feel welcome, too. BMO Stadium, for instance, is home to the Los Angeles FC men’s team (which plays in Major League Soccer) and the Angel City FC women’s team (which plays in the NWSL). The stadium, designed by Gensler, features digital signage that toggles between brand identities depending on which team has a match going on. 

Building equity with intentionality and vulnerability

When describing the through-line between stadiums and training facilities that support women well, Smith points to their organizations’ intentional decisions and willingness to have vulnerable conversations. For instance, she says it’s important for project teams to understand the different ways a woman’s body and cycles can “impact play and healing from injuries.”

Even though it can lead to “tough conversations,” Smith continues, it’s critical for organizations “to empower the leaders, the sporting directors, and the medical staff to share when they need certain design decisions or processes within a stadium.”

The payoff of those conversations could be significant, not just on an organizational level but a national one. Smith hopes rising visibility and equity for female athletes will inspire young women and girls, regardless of whether professional athletics is in their future.

“I'm super excited for the youth of our country to be able to continue to see what they can become,” Smith says. “They may see someone who’s out on that field showing courage, showing resilience, and showing leadership and camaraderie with their teammates. That’s what they can become, whatever it is they end up doing with their life.”

On November 2, Huggins and Smith will be joined by Courtney Kounkel, founder of Monarch Build, and Leah Humphrey, a project director with Machete Group, for the Leveling Up Women’s Sports session. The panel will share insights on equitable investment, balancing resources between men’s and women’s teams, and making strategic ownership decisions to elevate women’s sports. And on November 3, Women’s Leadership Summit attendees can take a tour of CPKC Stadium. See the full schedule and register on the conference page.

Danielle Steger is AIA’s senior manager, editorial & publications.