USWNT October Friendlies Show Need for Soccer Stadium in Memphis

The United States Women’s National Team won the gold medal at this year’s Olympics in Paris, their fifth such title. To celebrate, US Soccer scheduled a stretch of three friendlies during the month of October as a short victory tour. Those three cities were Austin, Texas followed by Nashville, Tennessee and finally Louisville, Kentucky. What do all three of those cities have in common? They all have a soccer-specific stadium that opened in the last five years. And because of those soccer-specific stadiums, a number of high-profile soccer events have been, or will be going, to those cities. It further highlights why Memphis so desperately needs to get a soccer-specific stadium built for 901 FC.

Q2 Stadium opened up in Austin in 2021. Since then, Austin FC has sold out nearly every single home game (though the two attendances for their Leagues Cup games this year are suspiciously unavailable). On top of filling up for MLS games, Q2 Stadium has played host to both the USMNT and the USWNT on a fairly regular basis. The USMNT has played at the 20,738-seat venue a total of five times and averaged 20,319 across those five games. The USWNT has drawn similarly well in their three appearances in the Texas state capital, averaging 19,891 people per game. Having this soccer-specific stadium also allowed Austin to be a host city for this summer’s Copa America (the oldest international soccer tournament in the world). The stadium played host to 20,240 fans for Venezuela/Jamaica and then 12,675 fans for Costa Rica/Paraguay. They have also been selected as host venue for the 2025 Gold Cup, the second time they will have hosted that particular competition.

Geodis Park in Nashville opened in 2022 and is the largest soccer-specific stadium in the country, with a capacity of 30,000. While they haven’t hosted games for a tournament as prestigious as Copa America, they’ve still drawn very well for MLS side Nashville SC, averaging over 25,000 fans per game for over two years now. It does help that Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have visited twice: the 2023 Leagues Cup Final and a 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup game. Despite having only been open for a short time, US Soccer has already made their presence felt in the Music City. The USMNT made their only appearance at Geodis Park against Ghana last year (a 4-0 win) and drew 18,468 fans. The USWNT has already been twice: the 2023 She Believes Cup win against Japan in front of 25,471 and this past Sunday for a friendly against Iceland that drew 17,018 to see the US earn a 3-1 win. And while Geodis Park was not part of Nashville’s unsuccessful bid to be a 2026 World Cup host city (Nissan Stadium being the proposed stadium), FIFA has named the stadium as a host venue for next year’s expanded Club World Cup.

As good for the game of soccer as soccer-specific stadiums in Austin and Nashville are, it is to the soccer-specific stadium in Louisville that Memphis must look for the best comparison. That’s because, not only are the cities of similar size, but also because both Memphis 901 FC and Louisville City compete in the USL Championship. Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville opened in 2020 and has an official capacity of 11,700. It is the home venue not only of Louisville City, but also of Racing Louisville in the NWSL. Having a soccer-specific stadium has allowed Louisville to host an impressive array of soccer spectacles. The stadium hosted the 2021 NWSL Championship between the Washington Spirit and the Chicago Red Stars. In 2023, Louisville City was able to host a pair of club friendlies against foreign clubs, a feat they repeated in 2024. Last year, they also hosted the NCAA College Cup semi-finals and national championship game, won by Clemson over Notre Dame in front of 4,449 people. The USWNT made their first appearance in the Derby City since 2004 and drew a sellout crowd of 13,543 against Argentina on Wednesday night (the second largest crowd in the history of the stadium). The success of Louisville City, the soccer-specific stadium, and the new training facility have all combined to give Louisville a chance to be a World Cup team base camp in 2026.

So, what does all of this mean for Memphis? Obviously, there was a time two years ago where it looked like Memphis 901 FC was going to be getting their own soccer-specific stadium. But the City of Memphis said there was not enough money for a soccer stadium so that left 901 FC back at square one. There is also the complicating factor that Memphis 901 FC’s attendance in 2023 was the lowest in team history at 3,455 fans per game. Neither of those things, however, means that the team or the city should throw in the towel. A stadium for the Beale Street Boys would make life so much easier and allow for, not just special events like national team games, but also hosting things like US Open Cup games and club friendlies.

This short victory tour by the USWNT has proven that cities that find ways to get soccer-specific stadiums are able to host big time soccer events. Q2 Stadium in Austin has hosted US national team games and Copa America. Geodis Park in Nashville has hosted US national team games and will be hosting games at the 2025 Club World Cup. Lynn Family Stadium has now hosted its first US national team game, club friendlies, US Open Cup games, the College Cup semi-finals and national championship, and could be a 2026 World Cup base camp. It’s not too much of stretch to think that, if 901 FC is somehow able to get their own stadium built, they too would be getting these types of events. The USWNT manager, Emma Hayes even said in the postgame press conference following the win over Argentina that playing all across the country is something she would like to see.

“I certainly work with the schedulers for our opponents” she said. “In terms of where we go, I’m not involved with that. But I certainly encourage that we go across the country. I think it’s important for us to do that. I know the team were very excited about this camp in particular being in Austin, Nashville, and here. Just different venues and getting a chance to see different fans. One that I’m sure I’ll keep encouraging.”

The first step towards proving that a stadium is necessary, is filling the stands back up at AutoZone Park. While last year’s attendance may have been the lowest in team history, Memphis 901 FC’s most recent home game against the Sacramento Republic was the largest home crowd (4,688) since the 2022 playoffs against the Tampa Bay Rowdies (6,063).

The next opportunity for Memphis 901 FC fans to get out and pack AutoZone Park is this Saturday as they host a first round USL playoff game against Orange County SC. This is Memphis 901 FC’s fourth straight playoff appearance and third straight year they have hosted a home playoff game. Kickoff is set for 1pm and tickets are on sale now.