Will the NWSL season continue after the Challenge Cup ends?

Chicago Red Stars head coach Rory Dames dropped a couple pieces of exciting information on Twitter. The first—the Red Stars are coming home to SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview for training. Previously, the team had been training at a “private, undisclosed out-of-state location,” according to a team spokesperson.

A second tweet from Dames was even more exciting—potentially, at least. The NWSL hasn’t said what, if anything, will come of the 2020 season after the Challenge Cup in Utah is over. The New York Times had reported the Challenge Cup was the entire 2020 season, meaning unlike MLS, the NWSL wasn’t planning on returning to local markets after the tournament. The league refuted that, though, saying that was still undecided.

And then, Dames dropped this in response to a joke by Claire Watkins:

Will we have any Red Stars games in Bridgeview after the Utah tournament ends? Clearly, the coronavirus pandemic will be the big factor here, but maybe there’s a chance. After what 2020 has thrown at us so far, we could all use a little bit of hope.