WNBA growth: Which cities are within the operating to earn the sixteenth group?

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 folks concerned within the course of.

Because the WNBA determines the place it ought to award its subsequent growth group, listed below are the cities and teams we all know have made formal bids for group No. 16 and what the timeline is prone to appear like for when a brand new franchise can be awarded.

Which cities submitted bids?

By the final six months, potential possession teams from throughout the U.S. indicated public curiosity within the WNBA sixteenth franchise.

The brand new group will be part of latest growth groups in Golden State (launching this season) and Portland and Toronto (2026). Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has stated she felt assured the league may develop to 16 groups by 2028.

Extra teams than these listed under might have submitted bids, however listed below are 9 teams has confirmed are nonetheless concerned within the course of:

Austin

A gaggle attempting to carry a group to the town has filed a proper bid with the WNBA, three sources briefed on the matter instructed . Former Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry is the lead investor within the group attempting to carry one other group to Texas, by 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 group would possible play on the Moody Middle, the place the Longhorns compete. The group plans to construct a observe facility for the potential group if it wins the bid.

An NBA participant, like Durant, should purchase as much as 4 p.c of a WNBA group, and NBA gamers in combination can come clean with 8 p.c of a WNBA group, based on new guidelines handed within the NBA’s 2023 collective bargaining settlement. However a participant can’t be invested in a group 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 includes the Charlotte Hornets possession group is attempting to carry a group 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 that the franchise is concerned within the effort. “Hornets Sports activities & Leisure believes strongly sooner or later progress of ladies’s basketball and the WNBA,” the group stated 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 carry the WNBA again to Charlotte.”

Cleveland

Dan Gilbert, the bulk proprietor of the Cleveland Cavaliers, formally put in a bid with the WNBA to carry an growth franchise to the town, a spokesperson for Rock Leisure Group, the corporate that oversees Gilbert’s sports activities properties, confirmed to . Cleveland had been a WNBA market from the league’s debut, in 1997, to 2003, when the Cleveland Rockers folded. The possible Cleveland group would play at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the place the Cavaliers play. The bid additionally features a plan to get the WNBA group its personal observe facility.

Denver

A gaggle led by the Dimond household submitted a proper bid with the WNBA to carry an growth group to Colorado. Ashley Dimond, who confirmed the bid to , would function the group’s governor if it had been to get a group, whereas her father, Stonebridge CEO Navin Dimond, is part of the bid as effectively. Ibotta CEO Bryan Leach and his household are additionally a part of the investor group. They intend for the potential Denver group to play in a purpose-built enviornment 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 carry the WNBA again to Detroit. The brand new WNBA group would play at Little Caesars Enviornment, 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 truly suppose it’s actually only a query of when the Shock comes again,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver instructed Pistons.com. “Over time, there’s going to be a whole lot of growth within the WNBA. That’s a first-class group led by Tom, and Detroit must get a WNBA group 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 franchise would play at Toyota Middle. The Houston Comets received 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 carry an growth group to Kansas Metropolis. Present co-owner Chris Lengthy instructed that the group has already signed an settlement with T-Cell 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 stated that if chosen the franchise would even be the one WNBA within the geographic area, as there may be not a WNBA group inside 400 miles of Kansas Metropolis. “I actually imagine 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 expect is efficacious,” Lengthy stated.

The Chiefs quarterback, who joined the Present’s possession group in Jan. 2023, has repeatedly been outspoken about his want to carry a WNBA franchise to Kansas Metropolis. This fall he stated 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 group to Kansas Metropolis, it might be packed each single night time,” Mahomes stated final week. “That’s simply the kind of ambiance that we’ve. 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 group 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 group could be referred to as the Tennessee Summitt, a nod to former Tennessee Woman 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 seeking to carry a franchise to the town, a HBSE spokesperson confirmed to . 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 can be part of the bidding group.

What the WNBA stated concerning the course of

At her annual WNBA Finals information convention final October, Engelbert stated 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 are very viable that we’re evaluating.” Key components embody a franchise’s enviornment, observe facility, participant expertise facilities, possession dedication and metropolis demographics and market analysis.

“It’s complicated since you want an enviornment and a observe facility and participant housing and all of the issues, you want dedicated long-term possession teams,” Engelbert stated. “The great factor is we’re getting a whole lot of calls.”

What the WNBA beforehand regarded for

Possession ties to the NBA are one commonality between the three latest growth 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 trying towards its subsequent franchise, the WNBA may select an possession group with NBA ties or look to an unbiased group. Among the many 9 teams listed above, solely Nashville, Austin and Kansas Metropolis usually are 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 main 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 group. The Valkyries, as they’d later be named, had a 12 months and a half to organize for his or her first recreation, which is able to tip off in Could.

Could 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 group 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 shocking to see an announcement this fall so as to give that group an analogous 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 most recent with Toronto, Portland and different cities?

With the Valkyries debuting this Could, the league’s growth course of is popping to franchises in Toronto and Portland, each of which is able to start play in 2026. In late January, the Toronto Tempo employed former Phoenix Mercury assistant normal supervisor Monica Wright Rogers as their first GM, a league supply confirmed to . Wright Rogers, who performed within the WNBA for seven seasons after a adorned 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 stated.

Though Toronto already unveiled its title, started promoting merchandise, and employed each its group 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). Based on 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 bunch that explored the potential of bringing a WNBA franchise to Jacksonville, however she instructed 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, based mostly in 4 cities, together with Jacksonville. Although the Milwaukee Bucks possession group reportedly had an curiosity in bringing a WNBA group to Wisconsin, it didn’t file a proper bid with the WNBA, a Bucks spokesman stated.

This text initially appeared in The Athletic.

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