iHeartMedia’s Sarah Spain has become an investor in USL W League club Minnesota Aurora, and she and her listeners “helped the Aurora raise $830,000 during the women’s soccer team’s second round of community ownership fundraising,” according to Jim Souhan of the MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE. Last week, she flew to Minnesota to see the Aurora play in person and to spend time with team founder Andrea Yoch. Spain: “I wanted opportunities to put my money where my mouth is. The more I looked into Aurora, the more I realized that they do everything right.” Spain, who lives in Chicago and was a minority owner of the NWSL Chicago Red Stars before an ownership change, thinks that “one of the next big steps in the popularizing of women’s sports is … anger.” Spain said, “When the Lynx lost in the WNBA Finals last year, people watched it like it was a real sporting event. It was the same level of real disappointment as when an established men’s team loses.” Spain also noted that the WNBA is “facing collective bargaining negotiations,” and that “you don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to think that NBA owners who also own WNBA teams might not be forthright about how profitable the women are.” Spain: “Men’s teams never complain about the money they’re losing. When women lose money, it’s a big deal. That feels like a crutch for not investing in women’s sports” (MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE, 6/14).
iHeartMedia’s Sarah Spain invests in Minnesota Aurora, pushes for more investment in women’s sports
