– The WNBA is expanding to the San Francisco Bay Area and will be an expansion of the Golden State Warriors.
– San Francisco’s inaugural season in the WNBA will begin in 2025.
– The Warriors’ co-owners and leadership team have expressed their interest in joining the WNBA family, a sign of the league’s growth potential.
https://twitter.com/WNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Details
The WNBA is headed to the San Francisco Bay Area! In an exciting announcement on Thursday, the league revealed that San Francisco will have its own women’s basketball team starting in 2025. This new team will be an expansion of the Golden State Warriors, making them the sixth NBA franchise to also have a WNBA team.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert expressed her enthusiasm about the expansion, stating, “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.” She also acknowledged the leadership team of the Golden State Warriors, highlighting their success and stating that their interest in joining the WNBA family is a testament to the league’s growth potential.
The San Francisco team will be the first new WNBA franchise since 2008 and will become the 13th team in the league. They will call Chase Center their home arena and utilize the Warriors’ practice facility as their headquarters. Additionally, Engelbert revealed her plans to add a 14th team to the league by 2025, mentioning cities like Portland, Sacramento, Toronto, Philadelphia, and Denver as potential locations.
This expansion has been a long-term goal for Engelbert, who recognized the need for more teams to cater to the vast population of the country. “OK, we have 12 teams in a country of over 300 million people. That is not enough,” she stated. The addition of the San Francisco team is a significant step towards growing the sport’s fandom.
Excitement surrounding the announcement extended beyond the league and the Warriors organization. NBA star Stephen Curry took to social media to welcome the new team, expressing his anticipation for their success at the highest level. Meanwhile, Warriors co-executive chairman Joe Lacob confidently declared that the new Golden State team would win a championship in the next five years.
As the WNBA expands its reach to more markets, it solidifies its position as the leading women’s professional basketball league. With the addition of the San Francisco team, the Bay Area is set to become the perfect market for women’s basketball, and fans can’t wait to see the team thrive when they hit the court in 2025.
