Investing in the Sky was a no-brainer for Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts.
She felt aligned with the mission of the league and with longtime Sky owners Michael Alter and John Rogers. After partaking in -conversations regarding investment for over a year, Ricketts became an official addition to the Sky ownership group last week.
Her desire to invest is tied to the impact she has witnessed from both the athletes in the WNBA and at the collegiate level.
“I’m sure you watched the women’s NCAA Tournament and saw how incredible it was,” Ricketts said to the Sun-Times. “At the end, there was a little bit of controversy about race and so forth. Those are good conversations to be having. The fact that it was women’s basketball inspiring those conversations and the perspectives shared, and the women sharing them were really strong, showing all sides, showing leadership, I thought was super cool.”
Ricketts referred to the NCAA championship game between LSU and Iowa and the dialogue that transpired after NCAA champion Angel Reese mimicked Wooden Award winner Caitlin Clark’s celebration. Unlike Clark, Reese’s actions were met with fierce blowback.
Ricketts added that the same philosophy can be applied to the WNBA. Beyond their talent, WNBA and NCAA women’s basketball players have an evident level of cultural relevance and are using it to show the world what can be.
“I want to invest in that,” Ricketts said. “I want to help that gain momentum and add my bit to the growing momentum of that and what it represents to everybody culturally.”
Ricketts admitted she’s just beginning to learn about the WNBA from an operational standpoint. She has expressed her desire to share details about the Cubs’ experience in ticketing, merchandise and marketing to help the Sky set their strategy for the future.
She knows only some things from the Cubs and Major League Baseball will be transferable to the Sky and the WNBA, but said there are aspects that both organizations and leagues can learn from each other.
Sky chairman and co-owner Nadia Rawlinson told the Sun-Times last week that the new investors, including Ricketts, have made a long-term commitment to the franchise. Ricketts has followed the lead of those who have been at the helm since the franchise was established in 2006.
“I don’t want to be presumptuous,” Ricketts said. “They’ve run this business for a while. They know women’s basketball way better than I do. So, I’m going to be learning from them, too. But I can imagine marketing things, merchandising, new ticket strategies.”
Ricketts said she has made herself and her staff entirely available for the Sky to meet with in whatever way they feel beneficial.
Before Ricketts invested in the Sky, the franchise became the official broadcast partner of Marquee Sports Network, operated by the Cubs. Ricketts played a crucial role in nudging that partnership along.
The new investor group bought a 10% share of the Sky for $8.5 million. There’s a possibility that the franchise could add another investor in three-time NBA champion and Chicago native Dwyane Wade.
According to multiple sources, Wade has expressed interest in investing in the Sky and has had conversations about it with members of the team’s ownership.
The WNBA is at a transitional place with its media deal with ESPN ending in 2025, the need for expansion and charter travel to be addressed and a new CBA on the horizon. Investors such as Ricketts are crucial to the continued growth of the league.
“There are a lot of challenges that they’re going to need to be addressing going forward on all sorts of fronts,” Ricketts said. “When I say that, I don’t have one particular thing in mind. I think partly just how the league will evolve.”
