WNBA awards expansion team to San Francisco Bay Area

 

[October 06, 2023]  (Reuters) - The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced a new San Francisco Bay Area franchise on Thursday, answering longstanding calls from players and fans to expand the top-flight American league.

The expansion franchise, which will be the WNBA's 13th team, will start competing in 2025 and play their homes games at the home of the NBA's Golden State Warriors.

"We are thrilled about expanding to the Bay Area and bringing the WNBA to a region with passionate basketball fans and a strong history of supporting women's basketball," WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a news release.

It will be the first new team in the WNBA since 2008, as an explosion of collegiate and international talent has overwhelmed rosters.

The team will be owned and operated by Warriors Co-Executive Chairman and CEO Joe Lacob and Co-Executive Chairman Peter Guber.

"We have been interested in a WNBA franchise for several years, due in part to the rich history of women's basketball in the Bay Area, and believe now is the ideal time to execute that vision and build upon the legacy," said Lacob.

"The WNBA continues to solidify itself as the preeminent women's professional basketball league, and we look forward to supporting the best women’s basketball players in the world and our team starting in 2025."

The WNBA has enjoyed a steady increase in viewership in recent years and in 2023 saw its most-watched regular season in 21 years with an increase of 21% over the 2022 season across ABC, CBS, ESPN and ESPN2.

The league is also in talks with other ownership groups to further expand the league, according to USA Today, which first broke the news.

There had been considerable buzz over a potential team in Toronto after the league hosted its first game in Canada during the preseason to a sold-out crowd at the home of the NBA's Toronto Raptors.

Sep 24, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; A Wilson official WNBA basketball on the court during game one of the 2023 WNBA Semifinals between the Dallas Wings and the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob Ultra Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

The announcement comes months after the National Women's Soccer League announced its own Bay Area expansion franchise, which is set to start playing next year, as the Northern California enclave embraces women's sport.

"There is a clear and passionate desire for professional women's sports teams here," the Bay FC team said in a statement to Reuters.

"We look forward to welcoming and supporting another pro women's team to the region and are excited that Bay Area fans —especially our youngest fans — will finally be able to cheer on more professional women athletes here in the Bay."

The best-of-five WNBA Finals begin on Sunday, featuring a showdown between the league's two so-called "superteams", the defending champions Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty.

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Additional reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, Editing by Ed Osmond)

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