Women’s professional basketball is coming to the Bay Area. The WNBA announced earlier this morning that the Warriors have been awarded an expansion franchise that will begin play during the 2025 season.
“The Bay Area is the perfect market for a WNBA team, and we are thrilled this opportunity has finally come to fruition,” said Warriors Co-Executive Chairman & CEO Joe Lacob via a team press release. “We have been interested in a WNBA franchise for several years, due in part to the rich history of women’s basketball in the Bay Area and believe now is the ideal time to execute that vision and build upon that legacy. The WNBA continues to solidify itself as the preeminent women’s professional basketball league, and we look forward to supporting the best women’s basketball players in the world and our team starting in 2025.”
Unsurprisingly, Lacob, a four-time NBA champion with the men’s squad, also set some lofty exceptions for the new women’s team in town.
The team will play home games at Chase Center in San Francisco but be based at the Warriors’ Oakland practice facility and offices, that were home to the Warriors from 1997-2019.
The team’s name, logo and brand will be announced later. This is the WNBA’s first expansion franchise since 2008.
