Skyrocketing valuations, revenues, and investments: 'That sounds like a tech story. It's a women's sports story,' Alexis Ohanian says

That stat alone shows how rapidly the women’s sports industry is growing, but doesn’t show the entire picture of why. But Alexis Ohanian, founding control owner of Angel City FC and Los Angeles Golf Club, and creator of professional women’s track and field event series Athlos, said at the Fortune Global Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday said it’s due to the rise in team valuations investments.

Investments in women’s sports were historically “surpressed,” said Ohanian, who is also the cofounder and former CEO of Reddit. And although women’s sports are “a ways from [being] overheated,” we’re starting to see it “whipsaw back quickly,” with the rise in valuations and team revenues.

Ohanian used the example of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), which charged $110 million for a group in Denver—a record-breaking expansion fee. That shows how expansion fees are going up more than 100x over the course of just a few years, he said.

“That sounds like a tech story,” Ohanian said. “It’s a women’s sports story.”

Ohanian also predicted we’ll see billion-dollar women’s sports teams in the next five years. To put that in perspective, though, all NFL and NBA teams are valued at at least $5 billion, and the MLB has more than a dozen franchises worth more than $4 billion.

Women’s sports are growing—but not fast enough

While the stats and anecdotes showing women’s sports’ growth is “exponential,” they’re still a long way from getting overheated, Portia Archer, CEO of the Women’s Tennis Association, said at the Fortune Global Forum.

While Deloitte’s report shows women’s sports is projected to have a record-breaking $2.35 billion in revenue this year, that’s not even 3% of the $80 billion total including men’s sports.

“The projections going out five years from now will continue to increase,” she said. “But it’s not enough of the pie. It should definitely be bigger and more.”

But Archer, who was recently named one of the most powerful women in sports, is working to change that. She is locked in on the launch of an industry-first family benefits program, including up to 12 months of paid maternity leave for WTA players with support from the Saudi Public Investment Fund. She also oversaw a major WTA rebrand, “Rally the World,” aimed at redefining women’s tennis as a global cultural platform, increasing commercial revenue, and expanding fan audiences worldwide.

Meanwhile, Ben Harburg, principal of the Harburg Group and owner of Al Kholood Club and Cádiz Club de Futbol, said at the Fortune Global Forum there are more opportunities to make sports clubs worldwide feel more inclusive.

“I sit with the fans physically in the stands,” he said. “I engage with them directly.”

That, along with the development of an app to watch games not accessible on TV, helps fans feel like the 12th player and to bring in “a whole new generation of people that were not loved and appreciated.”

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