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It’s been a long time coming, but it may finally be here.
Per The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson II, Joe Lacob and the Golden State Warriors are finalizing a deal to bring a WNBA team to the Bay Area.
Warriors close to bringing an expansion WNBA team to the Bay, per multiple sources.
— Marcus Thompson II (@ThompsonScribe) September 27, 2023
Deal isn’t done but if Warriors get the nod, the W franchise will be based in Oakland and play games at Chase Center. https://t.co/fRaRsIUvbr pic.twitter.com/2aTJnWTXUx
Per Thompson, the deal still isn’t complete as details still need to be worked out. But if a team does materialize, the plan is for them to be based in Oakland – headquartered in the Warriors’ old practice facility which they still own – and to play their home games in Chase Center.
Per Thompson, an announcement could come as soon as October.
This is a full-circle moment for Lacob, who once owned the San Jose Lasers of the now-defunct American Basketball League, a predecessor of the WNBA. Since then, calls for an expansion team to come to the Bay Area have been loud, with a market that is hungry for women’s hoops to grace an area that is addicted to basketball.
The Warriors have the infrastructure, resources, and experience to not only run a professional basketball team, but to do a good job of it. Expectations will be huge, but arguably no other ownership group is better equipped to meet those challenges.
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