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Warriors nearing deal to bring WNBA franchise to Bay Area, per report – CBS Sports
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The Golden State Warriors are closing in on an agreement to add a WNBA team to their ownership group, according to The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson, whose sources stressed that nothing is finalized yet.
“We have had productive conversations with the WNBA and look forward to the possibility of being a part of the league’s expansion plans. However, it would be premature to assume any potential agreement has been finalized,” the Warriors said in a statement to The Athletic.
If the deal is completed, the WNBA team would play its home games in San Francisco’s Chase Center, same as the Warriors, while being headquartered in Oakland at the team’s practice facility.
More from Thompson on Warriors owner Joe Lacob’s long ties to women’s professional basketball:
Owning a WNBA franchise would be a full circle moment for Warriors owner Joe Lacob, who has long been a supporter of American women’s basketball. A pioneer even.
He was integral in the establishment of the American Basketball League, which started play in the fall of 1996. Lacob was owner of the San Jose Lasers, led by Stanford star Jennifer Azzi and Sheri Sam.
But the WNBA started playing in June of 1997. By December of 1998, the ABL folded. That was the last time the Bay Area had a women’s professional team.
The WNBA has been talking about expansion for the last couple of years. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in May that she would like to add one or two teams by 2025. The Bay Area is a natural for expansion consideration because of the women’s basketball fervor in these parts.
It was presumed by many that as long as the Warriors wanted the franchise, they would be the league’s preferred ownership group if the league expanded to the Bay Area.
The Warriors have the capital, a new arena and the reputation. Using the Chase Center for the new WNBA team is a major appeal as it allows the ownership group year-round control of scheduling the arena. When a deal is reached, it must still be approved by the WNBA Board of Governors.
As Thompson points out, the Warriors are a preferred partner for the WNBA due to their “capital, new arena and reputation.” In other words, they are a first-class, high-profile organization that is both flush with cash centered in a prime business location.
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