Chicago Professional Women’s Soccer – Uniting the Soccer CommunityChicago Professional Women’s Soccer was born September 4, 2007 along with six other charter franchises of Women’s Professional Soccer. The gestation period for CPWS was more than two years as it began as an idea of FC Indiana owners Gary and Dale Weaver and Shek Borkowski.
The FC Indiana owners brought in long time Chicago Fire President and General Manager Peter Wilt in early 2006 to lead their efforts to establish a team in Chicago in the new league. The group spent the next six months assembling a broad based ownership group that included a unique partnership with the Illinois Women’s Soccer League, so the team would represent the entire Chicago soccer community.
INVESTOR AND PARTNER GROUP - The Chicago Professional Women's Soccer, LLC investor and partner group includes a cross section of the area's soccer and business leadership. The 16,000 member Illinois Women's Soccer League (IWSL) has signed on as a partner that will provide many of the benefits of ownership to the many young girls and women who play soccer in the state. In addition to the IWSL, the team's leadership includes, Chicago Soccer Investment, LLC, John (Jack) Cummins, Bob Morrison, Susan Morrison, Whitecap Investments GP led by Jim Willett, Dale Weaver, Gary Weaver, WGLSI, LLC and Peter Wilt
Gary and Dale Weaver are former principals of RollPak Corporation and are partners in WGLSI and FC Indiana, the 2005 and 2007 champions of the Women's Premier Soccer League. Bob Morrison is the former Chairman and CEO of both Quaker Oats and Kraft Foods. He also served as Vice-Chair of PepsiCo until his retirement. Bob's wife Susan, a member of the Women's Sports Foundation's Board of Trustees, is also an owner along with Chicago Soccer Investment, LLC, Chicago attorney and former DePaul University soccer player John (Jack) Cummins, Whitecap Investments, led by Jim Willett and former Chicago Fire President and General Manager Peter Wilt.
HOME FIELD - TOYOTA PARK and CPWS, LLC have agreed to terms for the team to play its home schedule at the home of the Chicago Fire Major League Soccer team.
5,000 SEASON TICKET EQUIVALENTS IN IWSL PARTNERSHIP - The partnership with the Illinois Women's Soccer League provides the youth and adult soccer league all the benefits of an equity partner in the team. The team will provide a complimentary ticket voucher to two games of their choice to each IWSL member, which, when combined with projected companion ticket purchases, will provide more than 50,000 fans over the team's expected ten game home schedule at TOYOTA PARK or an average of more than 5,000 tickets per game.
The team’s goal is to create a community based team that reflects the values and goals of the Illinois women's soccer community. The team will commit to using Illinois players, hosting clinics statewide and partnering with essentially 16,000 young owners to make Illinois' pro women's team truly ILLINOIS' team.
Having IWSL as a partner and member of our advisory board will provide the team with an ear into the youth soccer community. It will also allow the IWSL to provide guidance to the team, which will keep the soccer community's best interests in mind, when making major decisions involving the club. The team’s goal is to use the strength of a community based team to become the premier team in the League and the premier women's team in the world.
Having professional women's soccer in Chicago for the first time will provide aspirational heroes for tens of thousands of girls throughout the Midwest. The IWSL players will be able to interact up close with professional soccer players in a variety of unique opportunities allowing them to become better players. IWSL currently represents more than 16,000 girls and women of all ages playing across the state in 135 soccer clubs.
Following are some of the benefits of the partnership with the IWSL:
- IWSL will be granted many of the benefits of ownership in the team representing the first time a youth soccer organization has been involved in a partnership with the ownership of a professional women's team.
- IWSL will have representation on the team's Advisory Board
- IWSL will receive founding sponsor benefits from the pro team.
- Each IWSL member across the state will receive two ticket vouchers each season to see the professional team play.
- IWSL will promote group, individual and season tickets within its membership.
- The team will serve as IWSL's sponsorship agency of record and designate IWSL youth programs as beneficiaries of the team's charitable arm.
- IWSL will receive office space with the professional team.
- Annual statewide coaching and youth clinics for IWSL members.
- The pro team will include a minimum of two players on its roster who have played previously on an IWSL member club during their youth.
THE ORGANIZATION - Wilt, who served as the founding General Manager of the Chicago Fire and led them to an MLS Cup and three US Open Cup Championships in his eight seasons with the MLS club, said he is confident he can build a similarly successful team in this new league. He will serve as the team's President and CEO. The team's General Manager, Marcia McDermott, was hired January 8, 2007 and is leading the team’s search for a Head Coach.
The team itself will represent Chicago -- it will be strong, passionate and competitive and will play attractive soccer. The team will seek a name that reflects the character, history and passion of the city, much like the Chicago Fire. Chicago's professional women's soccer team will provide aspirational heroes for the girls playing the sport.