WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert hasn’t been shy about stating the league’s desire to expand in the coming seasons, but news has still been slow to trickle out. The WNBPA posted a message to social media Friday that might hint at some movement in that regard.
In a response to a tweet by Delta Airlines asking what cities have changed your life, the WNBPA responded with a complete list of current WNBA cities … and asked if the airline services Nashville, Toronto and the Bay Area as well.
Atlanta, GA
Chicago, IL
Uncasville, CT
Dallas, TX
Indianapolis, IN
Las Vegas, NV
Los Angeles, CA
Minneapolis, MN
New York, NY
Phoenix, AZ
Seattle, WA
Washington, DCjust confirming you fly to Nashville, Toronto, and the Bay Area too, right? #BetOnWomen #ExpandTheLeague
— WNBPA (@TheWNBPA) January 21, 2022
Taken in a vacuum, the tweet might not mean a whole lot. But all three of those markets have been the subject of expansion talks in recent years.
Public figures in Toronto have continued to support the idea of bringing in a women’s team since rumors of a bid cropped up three years ago. A group in Nashville has been public about its interest in acquiring a team, per reporting from FOX 17 in Nashville. And in October, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a local group had put together a bid for a team.
In an interview with ESPN in October, Engelbert again spoke to the possibility of league expansion, and moreover how critical it would be to the league’s long-term health.
The WNBA only having 12 teams was cited as “one of our impediments.”
“We’re doing all that data mining now,” she said. “I suspect by next summer or this time next year, in our 26th season, we’ll be talking about the number of teams and a list of where.”
–Field Level Media
