It was only a matter of time before the WNBA solidified its expansion plans.

On Thursday, the league confirmed the expected news of an expansion franchise for California’s Bay Area with a large-scale presentation at San Francisco’s Chase Center, where the team will play. 

The new team will be joined by a forthcoming franchise in Portland, according to multiple reports. That decision has reached the league’s Board of Governors, with its own announcement expected soon. 

The as-yet-unnamed Bay Area franchise will be led by Golden State Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber — and the Warriors will be the sixth NBA franchise to also have a WNBA team, joining similar situations in Brooklyn, Indiana, Minnesota, Phoenix, and Washington. 

According to sources, the group is committing $50 million to enter the league. The ownership group for the Portland team, meanwhile, is reportedly led by local billionaire Kirk Brown.

Starting with the 2025 season, the new franchises will bring the WNBA to 14 teams and could prompt a realignment to balance the Eastern and Western Conferences. This is also the league’s first expansion since 2008, though there have been multiple relocations.

“The right time, the right moment is today,” said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “The San Francisco Bay Area has proven to well exceed the mark in our expansion criteria. The Bay Area is firmly aligned with our already strong base of diverse and engaged fans, and this is a hub for women’s sports.”

Wave Of Growth

The expansion announcement not only arrives in time with this weekend’s start of a highly touted Finals matchup between the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces, but also follows a 2023 regular season with marked increases in attendance, national TV viewership, and social media consumption.

“The league is ready. It’s gone through some tough times, as we all did during the pandemic, but the league is ready for this expansion. Women’s basketball, and women’s sports overall, is taking off,” Lacob said.

But there remains some friction around the idea of further league expansion — particularly as players continue to push for better benefits and working conditions, including additional charter flights for team travel.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s virtual golf league has scored a major win by securing ESPN as its U.S. media rights partner ahead of its January launch. 

While financial details are unknown, ESPN had a first option for TGL’s rights, along with fellow PGA Tour broadcast partners CBS Sports and NBC Sports. The PGA Tour has a partnership with TGL parent company TMRW Sports. 

But TGL also negotiated with other broadcast partners beyond those three, a source told Front Office Sports. Fox Sports previously had U.S. Open rights, and streaming companies like Amazon, Apple, and YouTube could have been fitting partners given TGL’s tech-forward approach.

In the end, ESPN won out, giving TGL a presence among mainstream sports fans that likely wouldn’t have developed otherwise. Golf Channel could have been an easy landing spot for TGL, but that network is available in 61 million homes, compared to ESPN’s 72 million.

The deal expands ESPN’s golf presence, which already includes first- and second-round and early weekend coverage of the Masters and PGA Championship, as well as its PGA Tour Live product on ESPN+.

Gaining Momentum

Between TGL’s media and commercial deals and its team owners, it is clear the league is prioritizing top-tier stakeholders.

Earlier this week, TMRW Sports signed a wide-ranging deal with SoFi, the digital finance company that’s paying $30 million a year to have its name on the home stadium of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. SoFi gets presenting sponsorship of TGL, and matches will be played at SoFi Center in Florida.

Diamond Sports Group’s rejection of its regional rights to the Arizona Coyotes completes this year’s historic transformation of sports television in the 11th-largest U.S. media market.

On Thursday, the bankrupt parent of Bally Sports received approval from a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Texas to reject the NHL’s team local rights. The move has been increasingly anticipated since DSG’s similar dismissal of its Arizona Diamondbacks rights in July, leaving the Coyotes as the only remaining major pro team on Bally Sports Arizona.

“The debtors have concluded that the Coyotes agreement is not necessary to [its] business and is unlikely to provide a net benefit,” DSG said.

The NHL team’s situation closely follows not only MLB’s takeover of the Diamondbacks’ game production and distribution but a separate move by the Phoenix Suns and Mercury under new owner Mat Ishbia to walk away from the traditional regional sports network structure. The Suns and Mercury are now being aired locally on Gray Television and the Suns Live streaming platform — and have even been giving away TV antennas to fans to help boost their local footprint.

The NHL team has unsurprisingly supported DSG’s effort, as the Coyotes now have an opportunity to part from the financially troubled company. The team had been under contract with DSG through the 2024-25 season with upcoming rights fee payments due on Nov. 1 and Dec. 1.

New Plans Developing

The Coyotes moved quickly to strike a new deal with Scripps Sports to show its games over-the-air locally on the company’s Antenna TV network.

“This is a major win for us to be able to increase our reach and continue to grow the great game of hockey in the desert,” said Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo.

The DSG issue arrives as the Coyotes continue to seek a new arena and mixed-use development in the East Valley.

Bigger issues also continue to surround DSG: The company remains in pursuit of an extended deadline to file a formal reorganization plan. Originally due on Sept. 30, DSG has asked for a new date of Nov. 29.