WNBA Expansion

On Thursday, Oct. 5, the basketball community received some significant news. The WNBA announced that its Bay Area expansion would start in 2025.

The Golden State Warriors will own the new expansion team and agreed to start this new organization alongside themselves. Warriors will pay an expansion fee record of US $50 million spread over 10 years.

Given that the Warriors have been the most successful NBA team for the past eight years, this was the most apparent location for a new WNBA team.

The new team will play in the Chase Center located in San Francisco, California. That is where the Golden State Warriors currently play. The capacity for the arena is over 18,000.

This is the league's first new franchise since 2008. In the 2000 season, the league had grown to 16 teams, but during the following ten years, a number of franchises moved. The want and need for the W’s expansion has been long overdue.

Both the Eastern and Western conferences in the NBA each have 15 teams, whereas in the WNBA only six teams are in each conference. That is a significant distinction between the two.

Many other cities have expressed a desire to welcome WNBA teams. This year we expect the announcement of a second expansion franchise, probably in Portland.

In a press conference on Thursday, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert confirmed that the goal is to have 14 total teams by 2025.

Every year, players get drafted but then eventually get cut after training camp because of the limited number of roster spots.

After years of this, fans and onlookers demanded that the WNBA grow to provide more athletes the chance to play on the basketball court.

The WNBA took action. The success of the league will continue to elevate, and expansion is imminent.

Kiera Baker is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email ksb5617@psu.edu