PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The WNBA is reportedly planning to expand the league to two more cities, and Philadelphia is said to be under consideration for a team.
According to online publication The Athletic, Philadelphia is on the short list of potential new WNBA teams that could be announced as early as this fall. They report the league is evaluating demographics, psychographics, sports benchmarks, viewership and fan data of cities that are under consideration for expansion teams.
Esther Rosen, who started the @WNBAPhilly Twitter account in January to try and lobby for a team, said there's a market here for fans.
"I don’t think that it just has to be women that are interested in women's sports. The people who follow the account are not just women," she said.
"You know, it's a lot of men who love sports. It’s a lot of men who have daughters they want to take to the games. It's a lot of nonbinary people who want to see more of an inclusive environment."
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Rosen pointed out Philadelphia has produced WNBA MVPs, finals MVPs and college national championship players.
"You know, Kahleah Copper, Natasha Cloud, Delle Donne," she listed. "Then of course, there is Dawn Staley, who is the greatest women's basketball coach of all time and she's from North Philly."
Deborah Edwards of Darby said she likes the idea.
"I think that we need that," she said. "This is the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection, so we do need a lot of sisters to come here and play."
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Rosen said a lot of factors have led to this moment, which seems to be a turning point.
"There's been a lot of talent, a lot of player advocacy. The WNBA hasn't expanded in a while and there are only 12 teams," she explained. "Now there are so many women players coming out of college who want to play in the league."
And sports fan Suki Giwa, who attended last year's WNBA championship game, said there’s something special that happens when a city gets a national women's sports team.
"It allows people to see women in action," she said. "Kids see the possibilities and things that they can aspire to do."