Sports
Why Nashville could be in line for WNBA expansion team by 2028 – Tennessean
Now that the highly anticipated 2024 WNBA Draft has concluded, the focus shifts to possible expansion for the league, and Nashville is one of the cities on its list.
This is not new. The WNBA has considered adding a team in the Music City for several years. But commissioner Cathy Engelbert provided some more specific details about expansion at the draft Monday.
The league announced in October 2023 that it will add a team in San Francisco in 2025.
That will give the league 13 teams. Beyond that, Engelbert said the WNBA will expand to 16 teams likely by 2028 and the possible cities are Nashville, Philadelphia, Toronto, Denver, Portland and South Florida.
Engelbert had mentioned Austin and Charlotte as possible expansion destinations in 2023 but did not include them Monday.
WNBA COMMISSIONER MENTIONS NASHVILLE:Nashville is WNBA expansion possibility by 2025, commissioner Cathy Engelbert says
In 2022, when the possibility of the WNBA expanding first came up, the Nashville’s Sports Authority Board commissioned a study to gauge local resident, tourist and advertiser interest in having a professional women’s sports team.
The study revealed there was significant interest in women’s professional sports in Nashville, but that an WNBA team would need an investor group willing to cover team expenses and a location for its games.
“I definitely am hopeful we will be able to indicate what a strong market Nashville is for women’s basketball,” said Margaret Behm, who served on the Sports Authority committee, in 2023. “We’ve done the work so that we’ll have information to show the WNBA that this area loves women’s basketball.”
Zonecoverage.com included Nashville along with San Francisco, Toronto, Philadelphia, Miami and Charlotte as cities where the WNBA might expand in 2021.
“For years, Nashville has continued to grow as both a tourist destination and a popular city to live in,” wrote Mitchell Hanson from zonecoverage.com at the time. “If the WNBA is interested in tapping into a market in a part of the country where they haven’t had a team, this would be the perfect opportunity. Basketball fans know the history that resides in Tennessee, most notably at the college level. There is no doubt that the Nashville area would have an interest in a women’s basketball team.”
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
