As free company kicked off final month and star gamers started shuffling across the WNBA, one other essential date loomed on the league’s calendar.
Bids for the sixteenth WNBA franchise had been due on Jan. 30, based on a league supply briefed on the matter, leading to a flurry of curiosity. Greater than 10 potential possession teams submitted formal bids, based on individuals concerned within the course of.
Because the WNBA determines the place it ought to award its subsequent enlargement staff, listed below are the cities and teams we all know have made formal bids for staff No. 16 and what the timeline is prone to appear like for when a brand new franchise will probably be awarded.
Which cities submitted bids?
Via the final six months, potential possession teams from throughout the U.S. indicated public curiosity within the WNBA sixteenth franchise.
The brand new staff will be a part of current enlargement groups in Golden State (launching this season) and Portland and Toronto (2026). Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has mentioned she felt assured the league might broaden to 16 groups by 2028.
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Extra teams than these listed under could have submitted bids, however listed below are 9 teams The Athletic has confirmed are nonetheless concerned within the course of:
Austin
A gaggle attempting to deliver a staff to the town has filed a proper bid with the WNBA, three sources briefed on the matter informed The Athletic. Former Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry is the lead investor within the group attempting to deliver one other staff to Texas, by way of his funding agency, Avenue Capital, whereas perennial NBA All-Star Kevin Durant and former College of Texas star and Houston Comets participant Fran Harris are each concerned with the bid, based on an individual briefed on the bid. The staff would possible play on the Moody Middle, the place the Longhorns compete. The group plans to construct a observe facility for the possible staff if it wins the bid.
An NBA participant, like Durant, should purchase as much as 4 % of a WNBA staff, and NBA gamers in combination can come clean with 8 % of a WNBA staff, based on new guidelines handed within the NBA’s 2023 collective bargaining settlement. However a participant can’t be invested in a staff if any of the opposite possession stakes belong to a present NBA proprietor; Lasry bought his share of the Milwaukee Bucks two years in the past.
Charlotte
A gaggle that entails the Charlotte Hornets possession group is attempting to deliver a staff again to the town, which was as soon as the house of the Charlotte Sting. WUNC reported that Erica Berman is main the bid. A Hornets spokesperson confirmed to The Athletic that the franchise is concerned within the effort. “Hornets Sports activities & Leisure believes strongly sooner or later development of ladies’s basketball and the WNBA,” the staff mentioned in a press release. “The Charlotte Sting have a storied historical past and a passionate fanbase inside our group. We’re proud to again the Berman household and be part of this bigger group that’s bidding to deliver the WNBA again to Charlotte.”
Cleveland
Dan Gilbert, the bulk proprietor of the Cleveland Cavaliers, formally put in a bid with the WNBA to deliver an enlargement franchise to the town, a spokesperson for Rock Leisure Group, the corporate that oversees Gilbert’s sports activities properties, confirmed to The Athletic. Cleveland had been a WNBA market from the league’s debut, in 1997, to 2003, when the Cleveland Rockers folded. The potential Cleveland staff would play at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the place the Cavaliers play. The bid additionally features a plan to get the WNBA staff its personal observe facility.
Denver
A gaggle led by the Dimond household submitted a proper bid with the WNBA to deliver an enlargement staff to Colorado. Ashley Dimond, who confirmed the bid to The Athletic, would function the staff’s governor if it had been to get a staff, whereas her father, Stonebridge CEO Navin Dimond, is part of the bid as properly. Ibotta CEO Bryan Leach and his household are additionally a part of the investor group. They intend for the possible Denver staff to play in a purpose-built area if the WNBA chooses their bid.
Detroit
Tom Gores, the proprietor of the Detroit Pistons, introduced {that a} group together with NBA Corridor of Famers Grant Hill and Chris Webber in addition to Lions proprietor Sheila Ford Hamp and quarterback Jared Goff submitted a bid to deliver the WNBA again to Detroit. The brand new WNBA staff would play at Little Caesars Area, the house of the Pistons, however it might assemble a devoted WNBA observe facility. Detroit was a WNBA market from the league’s second season in 1998 till 2009.
“I really assume it’s actually only a query of when the Shock comes again,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver informed Pistons.com. “Over time, there’s going to be plenty of enlargement within the WNBA. That’s a first-class group led by Tom, and Detroit must get a WNBA staff once more.”
Houston
Tilman Fertitta, the proprietor of the Houston Rockets, submitted a bid for a WNBA franchise, a spokesperson for the Rockets confirmed to The Athletic. The franchise would play at Toyota Middle. The Houston Comets gained the primary 4 WNBA titles however disbanded after the 2008 season.
Kansas Metropolis
A gaggle led by the NWSL’s Kansas Metropolis Present co-owners Angie Lengthy, Chris Lengthy, Brittany Mahomes and Patrick Mahomes submitted a proper bid to deliver an enlargement staff to Kansas Metropolis. Present co-owner Chris Lengthy informed The Athletic that the group has already signed an settlement with T-Cellular Middle to be the downtown stadium’s anchor tenant and that the Kansas Metropolis WNBA franchise would construct a 60,000-square-foot privately-financed observe facility on land the group already owns in the identical space because the Present’s facility.
Lengthy mentioned that if chosen the franchise would even be the one WNBA within the geographic area, as there’s not a WNBA staff inside 400 miles of Kansas Metropolis. “I actually consider this isn’t only a metropolis play for the WNBA, however a regional play the place you place an anchor proper in the course of the nation that clearly we predict is efficacious,” Lengthy mentioned.
Patrick Mahomes talks about why he’s attempting to deliver a WNBA staff to KC
‘I really like sports activities, I understand how a lot the town loves sports activities so let’s deliver as many sports activities in right here and showcase how nice Kansas Metropolis is.’ pic.twitter.com/fHP3hBSs2n
— Sports activities Radio 810 WHB (@SportsRadio810) October 31, 2024
The Chiefs quarterback, who joined the Present’s possession group in Jan. 2023, has repeatedly been outspoken about his need to deliver a WNBA franchise to Kansas Metropolis. This fall he mentioned doing so was a “no-brainer” and cited the Present’s success as a replicable roadmap.
“I do know if we had been capable of get a WNBA staff to Kansas Metropolis, it might be packed each single evening,” Mahomes mentioned final week. “That’s simply the kind of environment that we now have. I’m hoping we are able to get that completed and we are able to proceed to push ladies’s sports activities ahead.”
A Kansas Metropolis franchise could be the second WNBA staff to share majority possession with an NWSL membership, becoming a member of the Portland WNBA group which additionally owns the Thorns.
Nashville
Nashville Predators proprietor Invoice Haslam and his spouse, Crissy, introduced they’d submitted a bid for a franchise. The staff could be known as the Tennessee Summitt, a nod to former Tennessee Girl Vols coach Pat Summitt. Candace Parker, Peyton Manning, Religion Hill and Tim McGraw would even be a part of the possession group.
Philadelphia
The possession group behind the Philadelphia 76ers, Harris Blitzer Sports activities & Leisure, is trying to deliver a franchise to the town, a HBSE spokesperson confirmed to The Athletic. The 76ers had made their curiosity identified earlier final month when proprietor Josh Harris, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker introduced a plan to construct a brand new stadium within the metropolis. Comcast purchased a minority stake in HBSE — which owns the Sixers, New Jersey Devils and different sports activities properties — and will probably be part of the bidding group.
What the WNBA mentioned concerning the course of
At her annual WNBA Finals information convention final October, Engelbert mentioned the WNBA want to have its sixteenth franchise start play in 2027 however goals to launch it no later than 2028. She added that there are “10 to 12 cities which might be very viable that we’re evaluating.” Key elements embody a franchise’s area, observe facility, participant expertise facilities, possession dedication and metropolis demographics and market analysis.
“It’s complicated since you want an area and a observe facility and participant housing and all of the issues, you want dedicated long-term possession teams,” Engelbert mentioned. “The good factor is we’re getting plenty of calls.”
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Monica Wright Rogers employed as GM of WNBA’s Toronto enlargement staff
What the WNBA beforehand seemed for
Possession ties to the NBA are one commonality between the three current enlargement teams. Joe Lacob, the bulk proprietor of the NBA’s Warriors, can also be the bulk proprietor of the Valkyries. Larry Tanenbaum and Kilmer Sports activities Ventures personal and function the Tempo in addition to the NBA’s Raptors.
Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal personal the Portland WNBA franchise. Their household is an investor within the NBA’s Kings, and their father, Raj, is the Kings principal co-owner and serves as majority proprietor Vivek Ranadive’s alternate on the NBA’s board of governors. In wanting towards its subsequent franchise, the WNBA might select an possession group with NBA ties or look to an impartial group. Among the many 9 teams listed above, solely Nashville, Austin and Kansas Metropolis are usually not in NBA markets.
Services — each arenas and observe gyms — have been particularly essential within the WNBA’s decision-making course of, and up to date participant motion in free company displays the significance gamers are placing on high-quality experiences. It’s no shock that potential franchises have usually made clear their major and second facility plans.
Timeline for a brand new franchise
October 2023
The WNBA introduced it awarded the Golden State Warriors possession group the league’s thirteenth staff. The Valkyries, as they might later be named, had a yr and a half to organize for his or her first recreation, which can tip off in Might.
Might 2024
The league introduced its 14th franchise, later named the Toronto Tempo two years earlier than they play their first recreation.
September 2024
The WNBA named Portland as the positioning of the league’s fifteenth franchise final September, giving the staff round 20 months of preparation between its announcement and tip.
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If the sixteenth franchise had been to start play in 2027, it wouldn’t be stunning to see an announcement this fall with the intention to give that staff the same quantity of preparation. If the league determines a sixteenth franchise ought to enter in 2028, then it’s truthful to anticipate an announcement in 2026.
What’s the newest with Toronto, Portland and different cities?
With the Valkyries debuting this Might, the league’s enlargement course of is popping to franchises in Toronto and Portland, each of which can start play in 2026. In late January, the Toronto Tempo employed former Phoenix Mercury assistant common supervisor Monica Wright Rogers as their first GM, a league supply confirmed to The Athletic. Wright Rogers, who performed within the WNBA for seven seasons after a embellished profession on the College of Virginia, was additionally into consideration for the GM position in Washington this offseason earlier than she was employed as Toronto’s high basketball decision-maker, league sources mentioned.
Though Toronto already unveiled its title, started promoting merchandise, and employed each its staff president and GM, Portland has but to make many public bulletins. It plans to create a observe facility that can home each the town’s WNBA franchise in addition to the NWSL’s Thorns (the 2 share possession). In response to Entrance Workplace Sports activities, it hopes to have a reputation by the spring.
Some teams that had reportedly proven curiosity haven’t positioned formal bids. Former WNBA president Donna Orender was a part of a gaggle that explored the opportunity of bringing a WNBA franchise to Jacksonville, however she informed The Athletic that she didn’t submit a bid. As an alternative, Orender lately helped launch a brand new skilled ladies’s basketball league, the Upshot League, primarily based in 4 cities, together with Jacksonville. Although the Milwaukee Bucks possession group reportedly had an curiosity in bringing a WNBA staff to Wisconsin, it didn’t file a proper bid with the WNBA, a Bucks spokesman mentioned.
(Picture: Alika Jenner / Getty Pictures)