At last! Philly to get WNBA franchise in 2030

The WNBA is bringing an expansion unit to Philadelphia in The league revealed the news on Monday announcing Cleveland and Detroit as two other cities getting teams in and respectively All three bids are attached to NBA franchises which the WNBA had been vocal about wanting to see Philadelphia is a city with unmatched passion rich basketball tradition and an unwavering love for its teams revealed WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert a Collingswood N J native It s only fitting that this iconic sports town is eventually home to a WNBA franchise From neighborhood courts to historic college arenas basketball runs deep in Philly and we re proud to bring the W to a city that s ready to embrace it The club pending approval from the WNBA and the NBA Board of Governors will be co-owned by Sixers owners Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment HBSE with Comcast holding a minority stake The pair s efforts to bid for a WNBA franchise were revealed in their agreement to build a new arena in South Philly back in January a surprising final twist in HBSE s initial plans to build an arena in Center City s Field East The Sixers certified to Billy Penn that the WNBA organization would play in the new South Philly arena when it s ready in Unless that timeline is moved up we assume the association will join the Sixers for the final year at the Xfinity Mobile Arena aka the Wells Fargo Center which will be renamed on Sept It s only right that this city conclusively gets the WNBA franchise it deserves and we re humbled to help usher in a new era of Philadelphia basketball noted HBSE co-owner Josh Harris who also owns the NFL s Washington Commanders Philadelphia will be the league s th association This season the Golden State Valkyries were the latest expansion franchise to join the league The Toronto Tempo and a yet-to-be-named Portland gang will be joining in Detroit and Clevland previously had WNBA teams with the Cleveland Rockers folding after the season and the Detroit Shock relocating to Tulsa then eventually becoming in the modern day s Dallas Wings Philly s last women s professional basketball unit the Philadelphia Rage played in the now-defunct American Basketball League from to The gang included Philly legend and current University of South Carolina coach Dawn Staley This expansion marks far more than an increase in teams It s a transformational commitment in the future of women s sports Engelbert stated With more teams more roster spots and more scale and visibility the WNBA is growing on a wave of momentum that is only growing stronger Philly s bid spearheaded by comedian Wanda Sykes and her wife Alex Niedbalski-Sykes originated in Beyond Staley other big names mentioned as potentially connected to the bid include Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith tennis legend Billie Jean King and the Roots drummer Questlove One name that has been floated for the franchise The Philadelphia Sisters Esther Rosen a grassroots advocate for a Philly WNBA franchise who runs the popular WNBA Philly social media accounts not to be confused with the new PhilaWNBA accounts that the company launched in the modern day has already post several reactions to the news on her various accounts WHEEEEEEEEEE WNBA Philly wnbaphilly bsky social - - T Z Watch Party PHL another grassroots advocacy group trying to bring more women s professional teams to Philly also revelled in in current times s update Watch Party PHL s goal since its inception was to prove to the WNBA and NWSL that Philadelphia is deserving and excited about the opportunity to join one of the fastest-growing leagues in women s sports the group explained We got exactly what we fought for and now the eyes of the national sports surroundings are on our city The group founded by firefighter Jen Leary has been raising funds to set up a permanent space for the city s first-ever women s sports bar The group s latest updates revealed they are approaching funding for their own gathering space The WNBA company will join the Philadelphia Surge a women and gender-expansive pro ultimate frisbee organization that just finished its third season in the Premier Ultimate League on the short list of Philly s women s professional sports teams As far as who could be on or coaching Philly s WNBA association Stawley ruled herself out of a expected coaching role when petitioned while a guest on the podcast Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce I d rather be an owner when I m an owner I can seemingly touch more people the three-time NCAA champion coach revealed Whenever the WNBA decides to add a association in Philly dawnstaley and Kylie will be ready Full episode is out now on all platforms pic twitter com iiD aeZEkL Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce nglwithkylie June It s ostensibly too early to say who could be drafted or moved into a gang in but Harris has already set down a marker of what the franchise s ambitions will likely be then For me and the population bringing the WNBA to Philly wasn t just a nice-to-have It was an obligation he reported Monday Philly deserves the best basketball unit that attracts the best players in the world and competes at the highest level We have an opportunity to build something special A band that girls across the region can root for and be inspired by The post At last Philly to get WNBA franchise in appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY