Surprisingly and unfortunately, we find that only one NWSL team currently has its own dedicated stadium. Kansas City Current’s CPKC Stadium stands alone as the sole home ground built specifically for a women’s soccer team among the league’s 14 active sides. While Denver, recently awarded the 16th expansion franchise, has proposed plans for its own stadium, the broader picture remains concerning. Most teams either share facilities with MLS franchises or lease stadiums. The Chicago Stars fall into the latter category, but now face the prospect of an unfortunate six-figure financial blow as they prepare for a reluctant move.

Simply put, the Illinois-based club’s lease agreement at the SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview, is set to conclude at the end of 2025. Though one would expect them to extend their contract terms or draft up a new one, a Chicago Stars spokesperson confirmed to the esteemed columns of The Evanston Now last week that the club is “considering a variety of stadium options for the 2026 season.”

And among those options is the name of the Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in Evanston. It comes as per a zoning analysis application submitted last week. The venue is home to Northwestern football, lacrosse, and soccer, and began its operations last August, where the inaugural football game was played.

Notably, if this move actually goes through, it wouldn’t be the first time the team has played there. Back in 2012, during their Women’s Professional Soccer League (WPSL) days, the Stars played a couple of games at Northwestern while their usual home field at Benedictine University was undergoing construction.

In fact, the temporary lakefront stadium at Northwestern isn’t new to hosting major events either. It served as the venue for five college football games last season while Ryan Field was being rebuilt. With construction on Ryan Field expected to wrap up next year, Northwestern University football is set to return to the temporary facility again this fall.

That’s not all; in January 2025, the NCAA announced that Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium will host the 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse semifinals and championship games. This makes it the first venue outside the Eastern Time Zone to do so.

Then again, a potential move to Evanston does come with some sacrifices, among them being the loss of attendance. Compared to SeatGeek’s 25,000 seats, the Martin Stadium, on the other hand, has a capacity of only 11,500. That’s a drop of over 50% in attendance. With the average ticket price of a Stars game being $65.42 per Ticket Smarter, the club could theoretically be facing a potential loss of around $883,170 if the average ticket price remains the same.

This is indeed quite a downgrade for the club. However, the same spokesperson who revealed the potential venue shift also emphasized that no final decision has been made and that more details about the location of future matches will be shared once confirmed. Either way, it’s a bittersweet update—especially coming just days after another surprising announcement.

A poor start to NWSL season forces Chicago Stars to make a crucial call!

Last week, the Chicago Stars also announced the exit of head coach Lorne Donaldson. Despite having arrived at the club last season, the former Jamaica’s Women’s National Team head coach and assistant was shown the exit door, largely in the wake of an unfortunate kick-off to their 2025 campaign.

“We are grateful to Lorne Donaldson for the culture, respect, and sense of self-belief he helped build within our squad. We appreciate his work and wish him the best for the future,” said Chicago Stars general manager Richard Feuz.

The Stars had finished at the bottom during their 2023 season at the bottom of the table. Though Donaldson turned things around last season, guiding the team to a 10-14-2 regular-season record and even taking them to the 2024 NWSL playoffs, the start to the current campaign was rather unfortunate.

So far, the Chicago side has secured just one win in seven matchdays. Hence, the decision to part ways with Donaldson. While the Stars are reportedly shortlisting replacements, first assistant coach Masaki Hemmi has stepped in as interim head coach. Under his leadership, the Stars managed to earn a draw against Gotham last night, bringing their NWSL points tally to four—though they remain in 14th place.