All eyes are on NJ/NY Gotham FC as they attempt to recapture the success of last year as they prepare for a fairytale period that culminated with the 2023 lifting of the NWSL prize. Before the petals yet finished falling, Gotham’s back office was now looking ahead to 2024. Yael Averbuch West, the general manager, anticipated adding some of the league’s top athletes during free organization, taking advantage of a roster-building course that has only recently been made accessible to the league’s clubs and players. The royal champions made the NWSL offseason’s biggest burst by signing USWNT actors Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle, Tierna Davidson and Emily Sonnett in January, following the record-breaking exchange of world-champion Spanish striker Esther González in August. The 2023 name and the extreme techniques that followed, according to Verbuch West and Gotham team governor Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, are just the start. “We want to be a global company, one of the best global sporting companies, time, ” Tisch Blodgett said in a video phone. “If you think about Manchester United, the Dallas Cowboys, or the New York Yankees, these businesses transcend the sports they’re in. That’s my long-term perspective. ” Tisch Blodgett acquired an LP stake in the company three times before Gotham completed its dramatic turn from worst-to-first last year. She is the founder and CEO of Next 3, a corporate consultant to the New York Giants ‘ Tisch Ownership Group, which is funding Gotham FC’s expenditure, at her day career. Besides the Tisch home, Gotham has attracted an essential squad of investors, including former Giants star quarterback Eli Manning and staff executive Pete Guelli, Kevin Durant’s Thirty-Five Ventures, past USWNT and Gotham FC player Carli Lloyd, past WNBA superstar Sue Bird, experienced sports executives Kristin Bernert and Karen Bryant, and New Jersey governor Phil Murphy and his family, Tammy. Still, the club’s rise to success had been slow. Founded in 2007 as Sky Blue FC, the franchise had n’t won a title since 2009, back in the WPS days pre-NWSL. Despite being in a major media market and a league founding member, Gotham was only the NWSL’s ninth-most valuable team out of 12 in 2023 at$ 48 million, according to Sportico ( The average NWSL team is worth$ 66 million ). Attendance-wise, the club ranked seventh last season with an average of 6,293 fans per game coming to 25,000-seat Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N. J. That lags far behind the recent California expansion teams San Diego Wave and Angel City FC, both of whom had more than 19,000 fans on average in their second seasons. Turning those peakes into more consistent crowd increases is the club’s next challenge, despite the club having a club record 15,058 fans who saw them take on fan favorite Alex Morgan and the Wave on Pride Night in 2023 and another 14,241 tickets sold for their Challenge Cup match against San Diego last month. “There are difficulties in grabbing attention within the New York market, just given that it is the New York market, ” said Matt Hochberg, the founder and CEO of Hochberg Sports Marketing, in a call. With so many professional sports teams, it becomes important to capture that interest and make sure that those who may be watching their first ever Gotham game become lifelong fans. The emergence of star power both on the field and within the ownership group should only serve to aid in this endeavor. “Building a brand in women’s sports takes resources, and that ’s something that Gotham has prioritized at this moment, ” said Caroline Fitzgerald, the founder of GOALS, a women’s sports marketing consultancy and media platform. “Their business model is attracting investment, attracting owners with a financial stake who are putting resources into the team, and that ’s really important. Angel City is one of the best instances of that in the NWSL. After being chosen from a large number of famous investors in 2020, the Los Angeles franchise made its season debut in 2022. The club is already valued as the highest in the league, at$ 180 million, though it ’s currently seeking a new owner. Angel City ’s$ 31 million revenue in 2023 was six times that of Gotham’s. According to Fitzgerald, the secret sauce behind the success of Angel City comes from building a powerful organization. With a strong marketing and sponsorship team of over 40 people, ACFC was able to secure$ 35 million in sponsorship commitments over the course of several years thanks to their creative approach to brand partnerships. It is inspiring to see how Gotham is also making an investment in their infrastructure; I think that ’s a crucial part of building a brand, ” she said. Gotham also expanded its soccer operations management team, aside from making its free agent splash. The club reported that the number of season ticket holders increased by more than 30 % in 2024 and that the club’s retention rate increased by more than 30 % from the same period last year. Another area of focus for the management has been creating a consistent pregame fan experience, including a fan fest with food trucks, merchandise sales, face painting, and a sign making station. This has been a way to make a home for Gotham at Red Bull Arena. One of two NWSL teams without major changes in principal governor in the last few years is Gotham, one of two non-expansion teams. the North Carolina Courage is the other. Although she currently serves on the NWSL Board of Governors as the team’s governor, it is unclear whether Tisch Blodgett will assume full control of the club going forward. One thing is certain: Tisch Blodgett and Averbuch West want to create something that will endure. Tisch Blodgett said,” I do n’t think I realized how many similarities there were between Peloton and Gotham.” When I joined Peloton, it was a little-known startup. ” As the company ’s CMO, Tisch Blodgett saw Peloton grow its membership from 30,000 to more than 2 million. Like Peloton, Gotham FC has a passionate and steadfast early consumer base. We have a responsibility to serve those fans while also expanding to new audiences, she said. At Red Bull on Sunday, Manning, former club captain Ali Krieger, Peloton head instructor and vice president of fitness programming Robin Arzón, and former team captain Ali Krieger will be present to promote the team’s regular-season home opener against the Kansas City Current. A ceremony will be held at the club’s NWSL championship ring ceremony. “We have a great product, ” Tisch Blodgett said. We then create a fantastic fan experience for Gotham fans so they can return and tell their friends about that product. ”