As free company kicked off final month and star gamers started shuffling across the WNBA, one other necessary 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 enlargement group, listed here are the cities and teams we all know have made formal bids for group No. 16 and what the timeline is more likely to appear like for when a brand new franchise will likely be awarded.
Which cities submitted bids?
By means of 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 a part of latest enlargement groups in Golden State (launching this season) and Portland and Toronto (2026). Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has mentioned she felt assured the league may broaden to 16 groups by 2028.
Extra teams than these listed beneath might have submitted bids, however listed here are 9 teams has confirmed are nonetheless concerned within the course of:
Austin
A bunch making an attempt to carry a group to town has filed a proper bid with the WNBA, three sources briefed on the matter informed . Former Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry is the lead investor within the group making an attempt to carry one other group 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 group would possible play on the Moody Heart, 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 buy as much as 4 p.c of a WNBA group, and NBA gamers in mixture 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 offered his share of the Milwaukee Bucks two years in the past.
Charlotte
A bunch that entails the Charlotte Hornets possession group is making an attempt to carry a group again to town, which was as soon as the house of the Charlotte Sting. 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 girls’s basketball and the WNBA,” the group mentioned in a press release. “The Charlotte Sting have a storied historical past and a passionate fanbase inside our neighborhood. 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 enlargement franchise to 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 potential 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 bunch led by the Dimond household submitted a proper bid with the WNBA to carry an enlargement 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 properly. 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 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 carry the WNBA again to Detroit. The brand new WNBA group would play at Little Caesars Enviornment, the house of the Pistons, however it could 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 lots of enlargement 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 Heart. The Houston Comets gained the primary 4 WNBA titles however disbanded after the 2008 season.
Kansas Metropolis
A bunch 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 enlargement group to Kansas Metropolis. Present co-owner Chris Lengthy informed that the group has already signed an settlement with T-Cellular Heart 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 group 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 set an anchor proper in the midst of the nation that clearly we predict is effective,” Lengthy mentioned.
Patrick Mahomes talks about why he’s making an attempt to carry a WNBA group to KC
‘I like sports activities, I understand how a lot town loves sports activities so let’s carry as many sports activities in right here and showcase how nice Kansas Metropolis is.’
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 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 group to Kansas Metropolis, it could be packed each single evening,” Mahomes mentioned final week. “That’s simply the kind of environment that we’ve got. I’m hoping we will get that achieved and we will proceed to push girls’s sports activities ahead.”
A Kansas Metropolis franchise can 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 for a franchise. The group can be referred to 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 carry a franchise to 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 will likely be part of the bidding group.
What the WNBA mentioned in regards to 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 are very viable that we’re evaluating.” Key elements embrace 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 lots of calls.”
What the WNBA beforehand seemed for
Possession ties to the NBA are one commonality between the three latest 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 trying towards its subsequent franchise, the WNBA may 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 should not in NBA markets.
Services — each arenas and observe gyms — have been particularly necessary 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 typically 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 group. The Valkyries, as they’d later be named, had a 12 months and a half to arrange for his or her first sport, which is able to 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 sport.
September 2024
The WNBA named Portland as the location 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 with the intention 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 count on 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 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 embellished profession on the College of Virginia, was additionally into account for the GM position in Washington this offseason earlier than she was employed as Toronto’s prime basketball decision-maker, league sources mentioned.
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 may home each town’s WNBA franchise in addition to the NWSL’s Thorns (the 2 share possession). In accordance with 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 opportunity of bringing a WNBA franchise to Jacksonville, however she informed that she didn’t submit a bid. As an alternative, Orender lately helped launch a brand new skilled girls’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 mentioned.
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