Future WNBA Teams

[hawk174md]

What US cities do you think deserves a WNBA expansion team?

[Minor League Man]

Boston
Dallas
Atlanta
New Orleans (once the Hornets come all the way back)
Memphis
Milwaukee

Plus I think Florida or Cleveland should get another chance.

[#1 Guard Fan]

Atlanta for sure

[toad455]

According to rumors, the next two teams will be San Jose(Bay Area) & Kansas City. After that Denver, Newark, Tennessee. Here's the likely order of what cities/teams will enter:

1. San Jose
2. Kansas City
3. Denver
4. Tennessee(Memphis, Knoxville or Nashville)
5. Newark, NJ
6. Dallas
7. Cleveland
8. Portland
9. Philadelphia
10. Oklahoma City
11. Pittsburgh
12. Albuquerque, NM
13. Toronto
14. Miami
15. Atlanta
16. Boston
17. Milwaukee

With Charlotte likely to relocate, this would bring the league to 30 teams. Although this won't happen for about 25-30 years.

[#1 Guard Fan]

Kinda hard to understand why teams are not able to make it in NC. They always talk about NC basketball but they have had 2 NBA teams,a NBDL team, and a WNBA team. It will only be a matter of time before they all end up moving out of the state. Come on people wake up and see what you have before it is to late

[Mike4FireAntz34]

NC Basketball is College Basketball and it will always be College basketball for years to come.

[#1 Guard Fan]

So sad is all I have to say

[Bruce B]

You have to look at George Shinn as a big reason the Hornets moved to New Orleans. The team was one of the NBA attendance leaders for a few years when they were in Charlotte, but Shinn felt the 22,000 seat arena was inadequate because it lacked luxury boxes. He made a series of public relations gaffes that soured the public on his ownership of the Hornets, and rather than sell out to someone who might represent the franchise better, he moved the team to New Orleans, an absolute basketball graveyard (but one with a new arena featuring...you guessed it...luxury boxes).

It comes as no surprise that even before Hurricane Katrina, the Hornets were not a big draw in New Orleans, where people stayed away even when Pete Maravich played for the Jazz there. If it weren't for the political awkwardness, Shinn probably would've moved the Hornets to Oklahoma City, where the people embraced the team. Instead, David Stern will stand by and watch the Sonics move from Seattle to OKC next year.

As to the Carolina Cougars of the old ABA (which none of you have mentioned), they were actually pretty popular in Greensboro in the 1970's, but they were a regional franchise that was not a big draw in either Raleigh or Charlotte. Regional teams that split their games between multiple cities have never done well, and the Cougars were eventually bought out by the Silna brothers, who moved the team to St. Louis in anticipation of a merger with the NBA. The Silnas looked at St. Louis as a market more suited to the NBA because of its large population base and prior popularity of the Hawks when Bob Pettit and Cliff Hagen played for them.

In the end, St. Louis was left out when the NBA absorbed four ABA teams, but as part of the settlement, the Silnas have received shares of the NBA's TV contract from Denver, New Jersey, San Antonio and Indiana into perpetuity. That wasn't a lot of money back in 1976, but when you look at how much the NBA brings in on TV now, they made out like bandits.

Carolina IS, first and foremost, a college basketball state. However, given a good product and responsible ownership, the people there have shown they will support pro hoops.

[SuperSonicStuart]

I think the WNBA should expand in:

Miami
Philadelphia
Boston
Atlanta
Toronto
Denver
Dallas
Salt Lake City
Portland
Memphis
Milwaukee

[yhallberg]

I believe Reno, Nv. would be a great place for a WNBA Team. They can play in the UNR Lawler Events Center. I believe Reno would welcome the WNBA with open arms. The WNBA is the perfect professional sports team for Reno because like Connecticut and Tennessee, it has a devoted women's basketball following.

[Pounder]

Pay attention to Houston.

The Comets are for sale.

If the ownership makes a profit, you'll see expansion. If not, you've probably seen the end of it. Chicago was a disaster this year. This league has some obvious problems.

[BruceB]

I think you touched on the crux of the matter, Pounder. The WNBA should not expand until all their existing franchises are in order. Chicago WAS a disaster, and there are several WNBA teams owned by NBA teams (besides Houston) that are quietly up for sale. If anything, it might be a better long-term move to contract the WNBA to 10-12 teams so the weak sisters can be eliminated and the overall product improved. THEN you expand.

As to Reno, name one pro sports team that has ever been supported there. Having a nice facility means nothing unless people get out of the casinos long enough to fill them. That has never happened.

[Pounder]

You probably don't want to get me started on Reno... and Las Vegas.

Most cities have a 9-to-5 work culture. The casinos generally employ in the evenings, so a large part of the work force can't come out to games on a traditional schedule. Having ex-in-laws in town there, BTW, that leads to one caustic culture that I'm glad not to be a part of.

The good news in Vegas, anyway, is that the place has grown large enough that their latest hockey entry is doing generally well. It doesn't hurt that the Orleans Arena was constructed with hockey in mind.

Reno, well... not yet. Besides, any pro team in Nevada MUST have beer sales. I could be wrong, but I don't think that's allowed in Lawlor. Having said that, knowing the rating of Nevada's men this year, I do need to drop by sometime this season.

[sportsguy12]

Apparently Atlanta might get an expansion, or most likely an existing team, that would play at Phillips Arena. I read where this is in the exploratory stages. I think the Nashville/Knoxville area would be a better fit.

Any future expansion would be better suited to the hotbeds of NCAA women's basketball, like Lubbock, Colorado, Raleigh.

Connecticut would do better playing in Hartford, although the Mohegans will never do that.

[Pounder]

Any future expansion would be better suited to the hotbeds of NCAA women's basketball, like Lubbock, Colorado, Raleigh.


Horrible idea. Those hotbeds already have their teams. Denver, maybe?

Connecticut IN Hartford is a better idea than at Mohegan. Issue: what's the rent at the Mall?

[MarshalsFAN80]

I can tell you for a fact it won't be in Cincinnati. They don't even support men's pro basketball in this city.

It's always going to be a College B-ball town. (UC & Xavier)

[nksports]

From what I've heard and read, a sale and move of Charlotte (WNBA) to Kansas City's new barn is about 60 to 75% a done deal.

[Pounder]

So much for the Charlotte to Kansas City deal. The Sting folded.

That's not a good sign.

Furthermore, since the October announcement that the Houston Comets were for sale, there's apparently been ZERO news on that front.

It's one thing to strengthen other franchises- actually kind of a silly notion. What can a league do to that end? If anything, this might be developing to the point where a league expands to see what sticks, and/or to provide better rivalries for existing teams. That also means lowering the ownership standards. It's a definite risk that usually fails, but doing nothing is likely to lead to the same end.

[nksports]

So much for the Charlotte to Kansas City deal. The Sting folded.

That's not a good sign.

That shocked me. The KC Star a couple of weeks ago was touting that one up. I wonder how much the wait for a new arena played into that (not that Kemper wouldn't have been a bad place to wait a year or two).
Then again, the new barn also is courting the Penguins right now (Mario was there the other day).
But that also means the Bobcats might be in trouble as well. Portland and Cleveland did the same thing when trying to sqeeze out a few bucks. (The Portland owner said he was losing $10 million a year on the Trail Blazers and $1 million a year on the WNBA team, so guess which one he folded. The Cavs apparently needed the extra cash to make sure LeBron's checks cleared).

I realize this is an instant gratification culture, but the NBA as we know it (it was a merger of two pro leagues in the late 40s) took years to get on the same level with the NFL and MLB. There were times in the 70s and 80s when a lot of teams went through tough times.
WNBA owners need the same kind of patience. (The NFL needed about 40 years before it arrived.)

[Phantom]

Connecticut IN Hartford is a better idea than at Mohegan. Issue: what's the rent at the Mall?

I do not think that the Sun would do better at the Hartford Civic Center. The Sun did play 2 or 3 games at HCC in their first year so it can be done but the Mohegan Sun Areana is such a better place. The views from the seats are great and it is just cleaner. Last year the Sun maybe averaged 7,500 people per game. With the Arenas size being only 10,000 seat that is not bad and it gets really loud in there. If they played at HCC you would now be talking about an additional 6,294 seats. Even if they fill half of those seats the place would be only 2/3 full. If you ever watch the Liberty, Storm or Monarchs play you can see how empty the place looks when they give you some wide angle shots on tv and you know that there is a good size crowd for a WNBA game. The only thing that does suck is that, it can be an 1+ drive to get to Mohegan but it is worth it.

[sportsguy12]

I do not think that the Sun would do better at the Hartford Civic Center. The Sun did play 2 or 3 games at HCC in their first year so it can be done but the Mohegan Sun Areana is such a better place. The views from the seats are great and it is just cleaner. Last year the Sun maybe averaged 7,500 people per game. With the Arenas size being only 10,000 seat that is not bad and it gets really loud in there. If they played at HCC you would now be talking about an additional 6,294 seats. Even if they fill half of those seats the place would be only 2/3 full. If you ever watch the Liberty, Storm or Monarchs play you can see how empty the place looks when they give you some wide angle shots on tv and you know that there is a good size crowd for a WNBA game. The only thing that does suck is that, it can be an 1+ drive to get to Mohegan but it is worth it.

The ABL team in New England did great with attendance. Even the UConn women just drew 16,000+ playing in Hartford. It might not have the modern conveniences as Mohegan, but I think the numbers would pan out with 2x the crowds with the right marketing.

Mohegan doesn't seat 10,000. It's close, but I think the WNBA would do better in Hartford.

[Pounder]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BKL_COMETS_SALE?SITE=MTMIS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-01-31-16-50-02

The Comets do get sold.

I'm afraid to say, however, that something's missing from the AP article.

Purchase price.

I know MLS would keep quiet when transactions didn't go their way, though they did admit off the bat when they dropped the price of their expansion fees. The reason I turned optimist with them is that those numbers have been going up the last three years. NHL tends to work under a simple principle, or at least deny a sale if it's primarily debt-based.

Here, not only is there no mention of a purchase price, but the new owner is immediately begging for sponsor support. That doesn't leave a good taste in my mouth.

The good news- the new owner pledging to take a look at this as a local franchise than the old WNBA mass marketing standard. Smart IMO.

Here's hoping patience helps.

[LJ_Fan_4ever]

I just hope the Seattle Storm get purchased by a local interest from Bennett since it doesn't look good for the team staying here. It's been a nightmare. I've been a STH since the beginning.

[Pounder]

Denver had an effort going to bring WNBA to town.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nba/article/0,2777,DRMN_23922_5695719,00.html

Only 40% of necessary capital to a city that tends to support a LOT of things that come down the pike. Not good.

How do we fix this?