Bay Area, Golden State Warriors awarded WNBA expansion team

The seven-time NBA champion GoldenState Warriors have been awarded a WNBA expansion team, it wasannounced today by WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

The team will begin play in the 2025season, making it the first new franchise to join the league since2008.

The new team will be owned andoperated by Warriors co-executive chairman and CEO Joe Lacob andco-executive chairman Peter Guber, and will play home games atChase Center in San Francisco.

Additionally, Golden State’s OaklandFacility, which served as the Warriors’ practice facility and frontoffice from 1997-2019, will be the WNBA team’s headquarters,housing a world-class practice facility and the team’s front officestaff.

“We are thrilled about expanding tothe Bay Area and bringing the WNBA to a region with passionatebasketball fans and a strong history of supporting women’sbasketball,” said Engelbert. “Joe Lacob, Peter Guber and theirleadership team know how to build and operate a world-classorganization, as witnessed by the immense success the Warriors’franchise has enjoyed from both a business and basketballperspective over the last decade. Their interest in joining theWNBA family is yet another sign of the league’s growthpotential.”

The Warriors become the sixth NBAfranchise to have a WNBA team, joining the Indiana Pacers (IndianaFever), Minnesota Timberwolves (Minnesota Lynx), Brooklyn Nets (NewYork Liberty,) Phoenix Suns (Phoenix Mercury) and WashingtonWizards (Washington Mystics).

“The Bay Area is the perfect marketfor a WNBA team, and we are thrilled this opportunity has finallycome to fruition,” said Lacob. “We have been interested in a WNBAfranchise for several years, due in part to the rich history ofwomen’s basketball in the Bay Area, and believe now is the idealtime to execute that vision and build upon the legacy. The WNBAcontinues to solidify itself as the preeminent women’s professionalbasketball league, and we look forward to supporting the bestwomen’s basketball players in the world and our team starting in2025.”

The 2023 WNBA regular season deliveredrecord-breaking viewership, attendance and digital engagement asthe league continues its business transformation. The offseasonfeatured the most-viewed WNBA Draft since 2004, followed by asold-out preseason game in Toronto, the most-watched regular seasonin 21 years and a digital transformation centered on the WNBA Appand WNBA.com.

Other highlights this year includedthe addition of CarMax as a WNBA Changemaker and ION as a broadcastpartner.

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