The San Francisco Bay Area will be announced as the location for a WNBA expansion franchise, according to a report by Lindsay Schnell and Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY Sports.
The league’s newest team will begin play in 2025, according to the story. No word on who the ownership of this new team would be.
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It will mark the first expansion by the 12-team league since it added the Atlanta Dream in 2008. The league began with eight clubs when it launched in 1997, with only four of those currently still in existence. A total of 18 franchises have existed over the course of the league’s history, which is in its 27th season.
The WNBA teased to the news via tweet on Wednesday morning, suggesting an official expansion announcement would come on Thursday, Oct. 5.
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The league continues to talk with other potential ownership groups about the possibility of expansion, according to the story.
In May, a pre-season game in Toronto between the Minnesota Lynx and Chicago Sky set records for attendance, viewership and merchandise sales. The 19,923 fans at Scotiabank Arena was the most ever at a WNBA pre-season game. It was also the most-viewed WNBA pre-season game ever, and the second-most-viewed WNBA game of all time in Canada.
At the time, WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert said that “Toronto scored very high on the list” of cities the league is considering for expansion.
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