What The Heart Wants

The Foundation For Success

The Philadelphia Hearts brass and a handful of special guests were at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, home of Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, Wells Fargo Center, and the newly-completed, privately-financed stadium for the city's NWSL expansion franchise, to hold a press conference to announce two major developments for the club.

Wendy Gebauer Palladino: Welcome, everyone. I am glad that our media blast yesterday after the trial reminding you of today's press conference seems to have worked, as I recognize a number of our city's fine sportswriters and reporters, along with a smattering of national media. Today is truly a special one for the Philadelphia Hearts. Preseason for the club begins next Thursday, making today theoretically the final day of the off-season since our players will be coming in tomorrow to get settled and acquainted with the city prior to March 1. We wouldn't be here today ready to kick off our first season in the NWSL without the generous support of our club's ownership and the many fans who have been drawn to our commitment to be a first-class organization both on the field and in the community. With that, I would like to announce that we have completed a deal with Urban Outfitters for the naming rights to our new stadium, which will be for five years. I give you Urban Outfitters Stadium.

A round of applause went up among those gathered. When the roar had lessened, Wendy continued.

Wendy: Our second announcement comes on the heels of yesterday's verdict. During the early part of this week, several of us sat around and wondered how we could seek to do good with the potential influx of capital to our club. One of our players, Stephanie McCaffrey, brought up the idea of using some of it to fund expanded soccer opportunities for female players in the city so they could gain access to high-level coaching, mentorship, and academic guidance in an effort to use the game as a means of bettering their lives. Following up on Hearts United, which raised significant funds for the Athlete Ally chapters at Penn and Temple, we are looking at some other causes that we want to champion. Therefore, we have started the Philadelphia Hearts Foundation, whose sole purpose is to bring love in all its forms to the citizens of the greater Philadelphia area through the use of its resources and connections to help alleviate the many troubles that we see around us in this community every day. I would like to introduce the Foundation's executive director, Julie O'Hara.

Julie O'Hara: Thank you, Wendy. I am still stunned at the opportunity that the club has offered me. I did not expect a small project that my daughter and I took on to help the Hearts after the incidents of Orientation Week would lead to being asked by Wendy to join the organization. I see my role with the Hearts Foundation as being the person who is able to connect the business community, the philanthropic community, and the non-profit sector in finding ways where they can collaborate in addressing the struggles of life in Philadelphia. While we lay the foundation for this endeavor, we will be utilizing members of the Hearts front office and perhaps players to seek out worthwhile causes and make connections with programs that perhaps don't get a lot of notice or attention. I look forward to getting started and thank Wendy for her faith and confidence in me and for all those who over the past three months showed me what the Hearts are all about.

Wendy: Before I take questions, we have a special guest with us this afternoon. NWSL Commissioner Amanda Duffy, will you come forward?

Amanda Duffy: Philadelphia's entrance to the NWSL could not be coming at a better time. The salary structure has been solidified so that players can make a reasonable living in-season and can theoretically not have to supplement it in the off-season to survive. The most-accomplished draft class in history will be entering the league next week, their dreams and aspirations at their fingertips. With the addition of two teams, which brings the league to twelve, goals set at the league's outset can now come to reality. The first of these was the move to two divisions. Next was the addition of a wild card team for the 2018 NWSL playoffs. Today, I announce another goal that we will meet this year. On July 14th, the NWSL will hold its first-ever All-Star game, pitting the best players from the East and West against one another. The venue for this event is none other than Urban Outfitters Stadium, right behind me. More details will be forthcoming once preseason begins, but I wanted to make this announcement alongside the ones the Hearts had scheduled so that the Philadelphia soccer community could begin to prepare for the event. On that note, the league has granted Vancouver the right to host the 2018 NWSL Championship on October 13th. Thank you.

Wendy: I will now take questions.

Marisa Pilla, NBC Sports Philly: Julie, how will your foundation seek to involve minority communities in your benevolence?

Julie: The club's first fundraiser targeted the LGBT community. The Stephanie McCaffrey Fund is earmarked for underserved female soccer players, most of which are African-American and Latina. I also plan to seek out alliances with Philadelphia Parks and Rec and the Boys and Girls Clubs to expand our reach into the neighborhoods in the city that are often neglected by charitable efforts.

Jonathan Tannenwald, Philadelphia Inquirer: Wendy, will the All-Star game ticket be included in the season ticket package or will it be an additional charge?

Wendy: All our ticket packages have in them a "Special Game 1" voucher for a match that is not part of the NWSL regular season schedule, such as the All-Star game or if we were to host a playoff game. Therefore, all current season ticket holders already have tickets for the July 14th match, and those who purchase from this point forward will receive a specific ticket for the game.

Dalen Cuff, Lifetime Sports: I'd like to pose this question to Erica Dambach. With the new stadium being based on the horseshoe structure of JFK Stadium, what will the field dimensions be?

Erica: The pitch for NWSL matches will be 110 x 70, but will have ample room along both sidelines so it can be widened for international fixtures.

Eli Pearlman-Storch, Philly Soccer Page: Ali, with the rest of the Hearts coming in tomorrow, do you and/or your deputies have any plans for "initiation rites" for those who have joined the team since the draft?

Ali looked at the two Stephs and wondered if she should disclose the evil trick up her sleeve. Both of them signaled that they should mislead the writer on what's in store for the newbies.

Ali: The two Stephs and I DO have something in mind for the four that we haven't gotten to know yet, but since it involves one of the players not currently with us, I'd rather not disclose it. You'll have to wait and see.

Jamie Apody, ABC 6: Wendy, are the Hearts done with roster movement or can we expect to see players shuffling in and out of Philadelphia over the next month to six weeks?

Wendy: The 20 we have now are who we plan to have on April 7th for the opener at Boston. Injuries of course can make that not be possible, but I don't foresee us actively trying to bring in new players. Thank you, all.

The press conference having been brought to a close, reporters snagged Ali, Erica, and Amanda Duffy for some individual questions. Julie and Steph McCaffrey talked for a couple of minutes about structuring her individual fund within the foundation's walls and set up a meeting for Monday afternoon when the two of them and Brian could work out the legalese of it. Wendy and Kristie discussed Saturday's all-club outing while Steph Labbe filled Carm in on her little surprise for the other two Canadians on the team.