WNBA awards expansion franchise to Golden State, growing league to 13 teams

The WNBA is coming to the bay.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced Thursday an expansion franchise will come to the San Francisco Bay Area and begin play in 2025.

Engelbert has faced constant questions about when the league would expand, to which she would reply when the time was right.

“The right time, the right moment is today,” Engelbert said, while welcoming, “the next generation of leaders, mothers and athletes.”

The NBA powerhouse Golden State Warriors have planned for this since before the opening of Chase Center in 2019. The WNBA team will play in the same arena where Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are stars.

“The Bay Area is the perfect market for a WNBA team, and we are thrilled this opportunity has finally come to fruition,” Warriors Co-Executive Chairman and CEO Joe Lacob said.

On hand for the announcement were Hall of Fame Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, former player and current California coach Charmin Smith, WNBPA Director of Player Relations Jayne Appel and other former stars such as Sheryl Swoopes and Seimone Augustus.

Engelbert called the Bay Area a “hub” for women’s basketball.

“This is a thrilling time for the WNBA,” she said.

The league is also in talks with other ownership groups to further expand the league, according to USA Today, which first broke the news.

Multiple reports Thursday said Portland is a likely destination.

Toronto, which hosted an exhibition game between the Lynx and Chicago Sky in front of a sold-out Scotiabank Arena in May, has often been mentioned as another possible expansion city.

WATCH | Canada’s Carleton discusses WNBA in Toronto:

Bridget Carleton of the Minnesota Lynx on the first-ever WNBA game in Toronto

Featured VideoHost Anastasia Bucsis talks with Canadian WNBA player Bridget Carleton about the first-ever WNBA in Toronto and how this game can help inspire the next generation of Canadian basketball players.