[Schnell] WNBA on Thursday plans to announce a new expansion team in the San Francisco Bay Area, a person with direct knowledge of the addition told USA TODAY Sports. The team will begin play in the 2025 season, giving the cities and ownership groups more than 18 months to prepare.
by NokCha_
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> The WNBA on Thursday plans to announce a new expansion team in the San Francisco Bay Area, a person with direct knowledge of the addition told USA TODAY Sports. The team will begin play in the 2025 season, giving the cities and ownership groups more than 18 months to prepare. The WNBA is also talking to other potential ownership groups about expansion in other cities.
> **The league is trying to capitalize on the growing wave of interest in women’s sports. The NWSL is expanding at a rapid clip**; NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman told The Washington Post in May that by 2026, the league will expand to 16 teams, doubling in size since it began in 2012.
> **Meanwhile, TV viewership for both the NCAA women’s tournament and WNBA has soared the past few seasons, with millions tuning in to watch a new generation of talent**. Ahead of the 2023 World Cup this summer, players praised the uptick of investment in women’s sports.
> It will be the first time in 15 years that the WNBA, now in its 27th season, has expanded. It last added Atlanta in 2008.
> The Bay Area did not previously have a WNBA team but used to be home to the San Jose Lasers, an American Basketball League franchise that was part of the other women’s pro league that ran just two seasons, from 1996-1998.
[Previously reported by The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson, but this time the deal is finally looking finalized and completed](https://theathletic.com/4902855/2023/09/26/warriors-wnba-bay-area/?source=emp_shared_article):
> **The Golden State Warriors are close to bringing a WNBA franchise to the Bay Area, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the deal.**
>The deal is not completed, sources stressed, as several details still need to be worked out. But if finalized, **the franchise will play its games at Chase Center and be headquartered in Oakland at the team’s practice facility**, which the organization still owns and uses to maintain a presence in the community. An announcement could come as soon as early October.
>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.
Hey Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Cam Brinks, Angel Reese, Hailey van Lith, and/or Azzi Fudd, feel free to stay in college for one more year and get that NIL money cause in 2025 👀
Nice I’m exited. A home team is exactly what I’ve been missing from the wnba. I just hope that being in the bay doesn’t deter people from wanting to play here with how expensive it is in the bay
What would the name of this WNBa team be called?
It’ll be nice to have a local WNBA franchise to support. I haven’t watched the WNBA that closely but that’ll definitely change now that I’ll have a team to root for
With a team in the bay, there’s gonna be no excuse for me not to get into the WNBA. Looking forward to it!
Lacob’s greedy. That should’ve been Oakland’s consolation team for losing the Warriors.
Super nice. I just wonder what they’ll do about the player income there since SF has such a high cost of living
This is a disaster. Basketball is for MEN. I’m not paying to watch layup lines.
I would have vastly preferred the group trying to bring the team to Oakland winning out over Lacob bringing them to Chase, but this is good regardless.
As a father of young girls who lives in the city, I am absolutely excited!
Going to start training my girls’ left hand dribble now.
Not gonna Lie, I’m excited!!!
Hell yeah!
SF Bay Warriors
Say what you want, let’s be real, no one cares about wnba
San Francisco Baes