On a seemingly ordinary day last August, Nan Vogel, Gotham FC‘s SVP of partnerships, and Theresa McDonnell, the Washington Spirit‘s chief operating officer, met at Brookdale Park in Montclair, N.J. Their one-hour brisk walk around the park wearing athleisure was more than exercise—it was the start of their off-the-pitch collaboration to grow their teams’ and the National Women’s Soccer League’s business.
McDonnell and Vogel met through a mutual connection in the league. They not only live near each other in Montclair, but also work for legacy clubs in the NWSL, both of which are trying to reset with new ownership while facing marketing competition from the league’s buzz-worthy expansion teams.
“We personally support each other through all the growth and changes happening at our organizations and the league,” McDonnell said in a video call. “And we vent!”
In Sportico’s most recent NWSL valuations, both clubs trail behind the newer NWSL franchises—Angel City FC, San Diego Wave and Kansas City Current—who currently occupy the top three spots. Michele Kang‘s Washington Spirit rank fifth with a value of $54 million, while Gotham FC holds the ninth position at $48 million.
“[These expansion teams] have a couple of years of runway before they’ve even taken the pitch to do grassroots marketing and establish their brand,” McDonnell said. “Meanwhile, we always say we’re building a plane while we fly it. And sometimes the door falls off. A lot of our conversations are about what are we going to do?”
Having struck up a friendship, the two women set out to exchange ideas and strategies while walking. From how to build their front office to hiring external support for certain parts of the business, they have been helping each other out.
“But on the pitch, absolutely there’s a rivalry,” Vogel said in a phone call.
The duo has been discussing the teams’ friendly rivalry, as the two NWSL teams in the Northeast, for some time. While theirs doesn’t match the intensity of Portland Thorns-Seattle Reign or Angel City FC-San Diego Wave, fostering it could boost awareness and attendance.
“Having an enemy is one of the greatest brand tricks you can pull,” Dave Wakeman, the CEO of Washington D.C.-based marketing consultancy firm Wakeman Consulting Group, said in a phone call. “Look at Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Do you think that women’s basketball would have taken off as rapidly over the last 12-18 months without their rivalry and matchups?”
This summer, the Spirit and Gotham will participate in the inaugural NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, which will feature all 14 NWSL clubs and the top six teams from NWSL’s regional rivals, Liga MX Femenil, the Mexican women’s soccer league. Gotham and the Spirit will feature in Group D alongside the Chicago Red Stars and Chivas de Guadalajara.
While the tournament’s other group matches are scheduled to be played at regular NWSL venues, Vogel and McDonnell strategically chose Philadelphia’s Subaru Park, home of the MLS’ Union, to host their match on July 28. Philadelphia’s location between the two cities, along with the fact that it doesn’t have a professional women’s sports franchise, made it a perfect location for both teams’ to stir up their East Coast rivalry. Both executives are working together to drive awareness for the tournament and promote ticket sales for the tournament.
While collaborating in multiple levels, Vogel and McDonnell are also running individual campaigns at home to promote their respective clubs. In Washington, the Spirit’s top priority is increasing attendance and awareness. Since taking over in 2022, Kang gave McDonnell a budget to do a big ad campaign, called “That’s The Spirit,” featuring the club’s star players Trinity Rodman, Aubrey Kingsbury and Ashley Sanchez, with DC-centric phrases alluding to politics on television, radio, digital, social media and in-stadium promotion.
According to Humantel, an outside agency that measured the campaign success last year, the Spirit’s awareness in the DMV—the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia—increased 100% year over year compared to 2022. The Spirit ran the campaign again this year.
With Kang in charge, the Spirit made D.C. United’s Audi Field its home venue this season, averaging about 12,000 spectators a game. Their matchup against Gotham on April 20 saw more than 15,000 people in the stands, their fourth-highest attendance ever.
In New York, Gotham, the reigning NWSL champions, made four blockbuster signings, inking U.S. women’s national team standouts Rose Lavelle, Emily Sonnett, Crystal Dunn and Tierna Davidson, in addition to Spain’s World Cup-winning forward Esther Gonzalez. Vogel signed a handful of new partners for this star-studded Gotham squad including CarMax as the front of the jersey and marquee partner for the club and RWJBarnabas Health as the club’s official health care partner.
Gotham, who plays its home games at the Red Bull Arena, said the NWSL UKG Challenge Cup against San Diego Wave and their season opener on April 14 against Kansas City Current brought 13,473 and 10,281 fans, respectively. Last May the Spirit hosted Gotham for a regular-season match that brought in 11,545 fans.
To further raise awareness and connect with more fans, the Spirit and Gotham are taking on England’s soccer powerhouses, Arsenal and Chelsea, who are embarking on a tour for some friendlies in the U.S., in August. The planning of these friendly matches came from another brainstorming session in the park. The Spirit had discussions with several clubs to organize an international tournament, including Arsenal. Vogel spearheaded and negotiated the contract with WSL champions Chelsea to come play Gotham FC at Red Bull Arena later this summer. When Chelsea said it was coming to the U.S., the two women coordinated to host the Blues in NJ and D.C.
McDonnell and Vogel continue collaborating and brainstorming during their walks at Brookdale to keep up with their West Coast counterparts, discussing everything from league happenings and organizational change to revenue strategies, merchandise, marketing and advertising. “We collectively believe that the rising tides lift all boats,” Vogel said.
