Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball (AU), the professional softball league in the U.S., announces a five-year stadium lease extension for its AU Pro Softball League at Parkway Bank Sports Complex (27 Jennie Finch Way, Rosemont). The stadium lease extension reinforces Athletes Unlimited’s commitment to professional softball in the Chicago-area and also pays homage to the city where the sport of softball originated.
In deepening its commitment to Chicago, AU announced a partnership with Laureus USA to become a member of Sport for Good Chicago—a coalition of more than 100 local organizations actively using sport as a vehicle for social change in the community. Harkening back to Chicago’s history as the birthplace of one of the North America’s most popular sports and the city’s uninterrupted role as one of America’s key hubs for the game, AU also will launch a new campaign entitled “Softball is Home,” on Thursday, May 16, featuring a new video spot hosted by Chicago’s own Sarah Spain.
“Chicago is the birthplace of softball – the sport was invented here in 1887, and women’s teams have a long history playing here. It is only fitting that Athletes Unlimited continue having the Chicago-area's Parkway Bank Sports Complex as our home base for the next five,” said Jon Patricof, Athletes Unlimited co-founder and CEO. “We’re inspired by this city’s love of sports and hope Chicagoans continue to embrace the world’s best softball players when they compete in AU in July and August.”
Originally launched in 2020, Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball brings more than 60 world-class female athletes to compete in action-packed fastpitch softball over a high-stakes five-week season at Parkway Bank Sports Complex. Each summer, fans from all over the country can tune into AU Pro Softball on national television via ESPN or attend the exciting in person games. Earlier this year, AU announced an extension to its national broadcast deal with ESPN and the league is proud to have partnerships with Nike, Gatorade and other leading global sports giants.
AU games offer a distinct experience, as each week the team roster changes based on the individual players’ performance in previous games. Top players are selected as the team captain for the week. In essence, each player is competing not only with the opposing team members, but against their teammates to climb the individual leaderboard rankings, thereby winning the opportunity to handpick their teammates for the next series.
“Softball has evolved over time, shifting from a male-dominated sport to women setting the records. In the 1930s, women’s teams were attracting huge crowds to their games at venues including Soldier Field. We are motivated by Chicago’s continued support of softball and AU Pro Softball amid industry changes, while propelling softball forward into a new generation of vibrant sportsmanship in women’s professional sports,” said Cheri Kempf, Athletes Unlimited senior vice president.
Season five of Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball will run July 26 through August 25, and season tickets are on-sale now. To learn more about AU Pro Softball, visit www.auprosoftball.com.
About Athletes Unlimited Named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in 2023, Athletes Unlimited is a new model of pro sports, where athletes are decision-makers and individual players are champions of team sports. Athletes Unlimited owns and operates professional women’s softball, lacrosse, volleyball and basketball leagues featuring world-class competition and fan experience, and stands out as an organization driven by the athletes that play in the leagues, with athlete representation on the company’s board of directors, each league led by a Player Executive Committee, and players sharing in long-term profits of the company, all while being proactive in shaping policies supporting the mothers that play in the league. Athletes Unlimited is the first professional sports league to be organized as a Public Benefit Corporation. For more information, visit auprosports.com.