2 days ago
Amina Bulman, the business chief for Boston's new professional women's soccer club, is helping build a dream team
Bulman, too, will need a diverse set of tools in her new role with the fledgling soccer club.
As Boston Legacy's chief revenue officer, she's the one overseeing the club's revenue streams, its business and commercial partnerships, its branding and marketing, and all ticketing and guest experience elements.
She's also fully aware of the political, um, football she's been handed and that she's working with a club that has already seen its share of controversy:
Its
that fell flat and a
And a $200 million redo of White Stadium — with costs split between the city and club ownership — has been contentious enough to become an issue in this fall's mayoral campaign.
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But Bulman is bullish about
Boston Legacy's brand and about the rise of
women's sports in general, and in a recent Bold Types interview with Globe business reporter Janelle Nanos, she explained why she believes she has the credentials to meet the moment.
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Bulman came back to Boston after five years with the NFL's Washington Commanders, a franchise which
The founders the Boston Legacy FC soccer team at an event last weekend unveiling the club's new logo.
John Tlumacki/Globe Staff
'For me this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,' Bulman said. 'The chance to build a new club in women's sports in my hometown was just a chance I couldn't pass up.'
Bulman grew up in Boston and got her MBA from Harvard. She knows firsthand what sports means here, as a fan and a competitor alike — she's run the Boston marathon three times and raced 10 times
in the Head of the Charles.
And while she acknowledges that professional women's soccer teams have tried — and failed — to launch here before, she argues that we're in a new era.
'As we like to say in women's sports, it's more than a moment, it's a movement,' Bulman said. 'There's obviously such a strong sports culture already, and Boston actually has the highest rate in the country of youth participation in soccer.'
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Then there's the World Cup coming to town next summer, during Boston Legacy's inaugural season.
'I think the city is ready,' she said. 'And what we're hearing from our fans is that they're so excited to see this club take the pitch in 2026.'
Of course, that pitch they first take won't actually be the one Bulman visited in Franklin Park — not yet at least. Lawsuits against the project have slowed construction timelines, enough that the Legacy will start their
'These athletes deserve their own stadium,' she said. 'They're world-class athletes. Not one's asking why the Patriots can't play at a college field. This is a sport that deserves investment, and we're hearing that from fans and partners that it's time for female athletes to get the resources they need.'
A demolition crew at White Stadium earlier this year.
Lane Turner/Globe Staff
Bulman and the club's supporters — including Mayor Michelle Wu, who has committed $100 million in city funds to White Stadium — say the facilities will benefit the city's student-athletes as well. Boston Public Schools teams from a dozen sports will use the 11,000-seat, all-electric building far more days than the Legacy will, she notes. And The Grove, an adjacent 2,500-seat venue with a full-service restaurant, will be available to the public every day of the year for events, concerts, farmer's markets, and movie nights.
'We really feel like it's the jewel in the jewel box that is White Stadium,' she said.
But before the stadium, Bulman has a brand to build.
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And this week she
'Swans are loyal, they're fierce, and they're determined, and they have this wonderful mix of grace and grit that we think is really core to women's sports and part of what we want our club to embody,' Bulman said.
And it could be a fitting metaphor too, as Bulman works help this fledgling team take flight.
Janelle Nanos can be reached at
