Watch Party PHL and Temple women’s basketball celebrate the city’s addition of a WNBA team

From the outside, it looked like a typical Friday night at Libertee Grounds.

But inside and down the stairs of the building at Girard Avenue and North 16th Street, about 300 passionate women’s sports fans laughed, played mini golf, watched basketball, and celebrated their city getting a WNBA team in 2030.

Hosted by Watch Party PHL, the crowd gathered to watch the New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury WNBA game, which featured local stars in Natasha Cloud, a Broomall native, on the Liberty and North Philly’s Kahleah Copper for the Mercury.

There were first-timers, regulars, and the Temple women’s basketball team and staff among those watching.

“To see all these people care about women’s sports, it’s good for the community, but especially for us because we’re in women’s sports, so just to see the love it’s really good,” said Sheyenne Swain-Price, a redshirt sophomore forward for the Owls.

She said Cloud and Copper’s success shows that there’s opportunities for players from any Division I school — Cloud is a St. Joseph’s grad, while Copper went to Rutgers — and that the Owls love to support the locals in the WNBA.

Watch Party PHL was founded by Philadelphia firefighter Jen Leary in March 2024 with two main goals in mind. She wanted to create an inclusive space for monthly women’s sports watch parties, and prove to the WNBA that there’s enough demand and support for a professional women’s basketball team in Philly.

Both of those goals have been met. The WNBA’s announcement of a team in Philly came over a year after her first watch party, and Leary started hosting three or more a month after several successful events. She plans to open a brick and mortar location in spring 2026.

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“The goal has changed,” Leary said. “We want to continue to build this community and this fandom, to show the W that they made the right decision, and as we continue to build on the numbers that come out to our watch parties, we’ll build the numbers that will fill those seats when the team comes.”

Watch Party PHL is a hub for all women’s sports, not just basketball. They host soccer, hockey, and tennis events, spanning multiple leagues, and major events like Wimbledon and the Olympics.

Leary partners with local businesses and sports organizations for mutual benefit. The organizations can sell merchandise and tell people about themselves, and the events bring introduce people from those communities to the watch party movement.

One of those businesses is Go Hamm, which sells women’s sports merchandise. Owner Mollie Cusack was at Friday’s event selling an exclusive “Philly is a women’s sports town -Est. 2030” shirt, designed with Watch Party as a nod to the WNBA team coming to Philly in five years.

Skilladelphia Basketball Academy’s cofounder Mac Casey and his daughter, Annie, also were in attendance. SBA is a nonprofit that provides developmental basketball clinics to girls and nonbinary players ages 6 to 14. Casey partnered with Old Pine Community Center to start the academy, which now includes hundreds of players.

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He noticed a lack of support for women’s sports, starting as early as elementary school, so he created a solution and has enjoyed widespread support. He said the same is true for Watch Party PHL.

“We’re really enthusiastic about what they’re doing. It’s a wonderful community,” Casey said. “I really like for [my daughter] to see it. It’s good for kids to see people that look like them.”

Added Annie, who’s 9 years old: “I’m really excited for the [WNBA] team. I definitely want to get tickets and go see them play.”

Fans in the crowd shared similar excitement for 2030, including Temple women’s basketball coach Diane Richardson.

“It’s about time,” Richardson said. “This is a women’s sports town, and I hate that we have to wait five years, but that means at least five years we’ve got to build the momentum for the fans so that when they come, they sell out. So I’m excited about it. I think they’ll do great here.”

She believes her team has expanded its fan base. In her three seasons as at the helm, the Owls’ attendance has grown significantly; they averaged over 1,700 fans per game last season.

It shows the direction that women’s sports is heading, she said, especially in Philly, and enthusiasm is growing among fans and players.

» READ MORE: Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve says Philly is finally ready for a WNBA team — and is excited for its impact on girls basketball

“It’s a realization that people are now looking at women’s basketball, and they want to represent it well,” Richardson said. “They want to play. They’re like, ‘OK, people are looking at us now. Let’s go.’ And so it’s really spurred them in practice. Now they’re thinking pro.”

Richardson had a reason to celebrate at the end of Friday’s game. Her adopted daughter, Jonquel Jones, led the New York Liberty to an 89-76 win with 20 points and 11 rebounds. This was her second game back from an ankle injury that sidelined her for a month. Cloud added 10 points for the Liberty, while Copper had 14 points for the Mercury.

“She was ready to come back, and she’s going to get back on this season where she was doing really well before the injury. She’s hungry for it,” Richardson said. “I think the awareness around professional teams is growing, and everyone’s going to be hungry for the team here, when it comes in five years.”