Sports Venture Week · Seattle · Thursday, Dec 3, 2026

The Business of
Women’s Sports

The first full-day conference dedicated exclusively to women founders building the women’s sports industry. At Rough & Tumble, Seattle’s first women’s sports bar.

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Brought to you by

Rough & TumbleYour Home for Women’s Sports

Powering the communities behind women’s sports

$3B

Global women’s elite sports revenue, 2026

Up 340% since 2022 · Deloitte

+59%

Average WNBA team value in one year

$427M average, up 345% since 2024 · Sportico

28.6B

Minutes of women’s sports watched, H1 2026

Up 18% year over year · Nielsen

+120%

Ad spend on women’s sports since 2022

Sponsor valuations: WNBA +71%, NWSL +82% · Nielsen

The growth

This isn’t a trend. It’s a market.

Women’s sports revenue has more than tripled in four years, and every stream is growing: commercial up to $1.4B, matchday to $911M, broadcast to $765M in 2026. North America is more than half the global market and has launched over eight new women’s leagues since 2020.

The audience is growing faster than the supply. 122 million Americans now follow women’s sports, 16 million of them new fans in the last year, and 60% say they’ve switched brands based on a company’s values. That’s why sponsor valuations in the WNBA and NWSL are up 71% and 82% in a single year.

The investment case

The money is moving. Early is still early.

The Seattle Storm sold for about $1 million in 2008. Sportico values the team at $425 million today. New WNBA franchises now cost $250 million to enter, and the league’s media deal pays $2 billion a year, five times the previous average.

Dedicated funds like Monarch Collective have raised $150M+ to invest only in women’s pro sports, and private equity, from Carlyle to Sixth Street, now owns stakes in NWSL clubs. The next decade’s teams, leagues, media companies and technology are being built now, and most of them are still looking for their first checks.

Why women founders

The most overlooked opportunity in venture.

Women’s sports is booming, but the women building it are still fighting for capital. That’s why this day exists: to put women founders in the room with the people who fund them.

~1%

Of U.S. venture capital went to companies founded solely by women in 2025

PitchBook

2.5x

More revenue per dollar invested than male-founded startups

Boston Consulting Group

+10%

More revenue over five years, on less than half the funding

Boston Consulting Group

Seattle is already in

Twelve women’s teams. One city.

Three pro teams, Storm (WNBA), Reign FC (NWSL) and the new Torrent (PWHL), plus semi-pro football, soccer, cricket, rugby, ultimate, roller derby and Aussie rules, and the first women’s sports bar in the state. No other city makes a stronger case for this conversation.

WNBA

Seattle Storm

$425M valuation · 4 championships

NWSL

Seattle Reign FC

Owned by Sounders FC & Carlyle

PWHL

Seattle Torrent

Expansion team, first season 2025–26

WNFC · Football

Seattle Majestics

Women’s tackle football since 2002

WUL · Ultimate

Seattle Tempest

Pro women’s ultimate · league champions

USL W League · Soccer

Salmon Bay FC

Ballard’s own · 2026 USL W League champions

NWCL · Cricket

Seattle Cyclones

Seattle’s women’s cricket team

USL W League · Soccer

West Seattle Rhodies FC

Pre-professional women’s soccer

Rugby · Women’s XVs

Seattle Rugby Club

Est. 1966 · women’s side since 1997

WFTDA · Roller Derby

Rat City Roller Derby

Seattle’s premier flat-track league

Semi-pro · Ultimate

Seattle Riot

Semi-pro women’s ultimate since 2000

USAFL · Aussie Rules

Seattle Grizzlies Women

D2 national champions 2016

Venue

Rough & Tumble Flagship

Washington’s first women’s sports bar

The day

9:00am

Check-in & coffee

10:00am

Opening panel

10:45am

Breakouts

11:30am

Panel

12:30pm

Curated lunch with conversation prompts

1:30pm

VC panel: investing in women’s sports

2:30pm

Women-founder pitch competition

4:00pm

Pitch finals & closing remarks

4:30pm

Cocktail hour, 4:30–6:30pm

Women founders

Pitch live to the people who fund this space

A 3-minute pitch and Q&A in front of investors, leaders and difference-makers in women’s sports. Early stage welcome; you don’t need to have raised. Applications close November 15.

Apply to pitch

Part of something bigger

Make it the whole week

The Business of Women’s Sports is one of five signature events of Sports Venture Week, six days where athletes, founders, investors and community come together in Seattle, November 30 – December 5. One badge gets you into all five, including your seat on December 3.

Get the 5-Day Badge Explore the full week

Presented by Venture Black · sportsventureweek.com

Sports Venture Week

5-Day Signature Event Badge

$150General · $350 VIP All-Access

Mon, Nov 30 · Opening Day Summit & Expo, Hilton Motif
Tue, Dec 1 · Founders Live Athletes Big Bash, The Showbox
Wed, Dec 2 · Rising Sports Film Screening
Thu, Dec 3 · The Business of Women’s Sports, Rough & Tumble Flagship
Sat, Dec 5 · Venture Black Q4 Venture Conference

VIP All-Access adds after-parties, VIP section seating and an event merchandise bag.

Who’s in the room

Built by women founders.
For women founders.

We’re skipping the ballroom, the expo hall, the badges on lanyards and the small talk. One day at Rough & Tumble with the people who run companies and teams, write checks, build products and fill the stands. Pull up a chair. The next big deal in women’s sports could start at your table.

Want to be on stage, not just in the crowd? We’re building the speaker lineup now.

Speak at the event →

Save your seat

Thursday, Dec 3 · 9am – 6:30pm · Rough & Tumble Flagship, 5309 22nd Ave NW, Ballard

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