On May 7, 2008, the Sports Museum of America officially opened to the public at 26 Broadway in lower Manhattan.
By Melanie Bennett
The Women’s Sports Foundation is pleased to announce the official opening of the Sports Museum of America and the Billie Jean King International Women’s Sports Center, a wing of the new, downtown Manhattan museum. The museum will also house the first permanent home for the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame.
On May 6 in a special pre-opening event, His Honor, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York welcomed the museum and its founder and CEO, Philip Schwalb. Among the honored guests and speakers was Women’s Sports Foundation Founder, Billie Jean King, who said, “I am personally honored to have parts of my career reflected here; who would've thought my grade school report cards would end up in a museum someday? All of us at the Women’s Sports Foundation are honored to be part of this exciting project. Our wing in the Sports Museum of America will be the only museum exhibit and hall of fame dedicated exclusively to female athletes."
Other athletes in attendance included Lyn St. James, Aimee Mullins, Martina Navratilova, Bonnie Blair and Donna de Varona. These athletes gathered together in front of the Sports Museum of America and the “Canyon of Heroes,” the site of the famed ticker-tape parades for athletes returning in triumph.
“I am proud to be a member of the Board of Honorary Trustees for the Sports Museum of America and to share in the values that sports inspire through the SmA and the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center,” said Aimee Mullins, Women’s Sports Foundation President.
Explore the new “International Women’s Sports Center” section to find out more about visiting the museum, featured exhibits, events at the Sports Museum of America and, of course, the Billie Jean King International Women’s Sports Center.
Visit our
photo gallery to see more photos from the event.