How did the WNBA wind up in Philly? A look at the road to get here and what’s next.
Philadelphia always seemed like a natural fit for the WNBA — and now it’s finally getting a team. Here’s how we got here.
After years of speculation and lobbying, Philadelphia will finally be home to a WNBA franchise, set to start playing in 2030.
It’s been a long road to get to this point. Philly has always felt like a natural destination for a professional women’s basketball team, given the city’s strong hoops culture, but for a variety of reasons, it continually was passed over in expansion talks until now.
Buzz has been building around a team coming to Philadelphia, especially as the popularity of the league continues to grow. In January, for the first time, Sixers ownership officially submitted a bid for a WNBA franchise in the city, timed with the announcement that the team and the Flyers would be building a new South Philly arena. Six months later, they were awarded a franchise.
Here’s a look at how it all finally came together over the last four-plus years.
March 2021: Delco native and then-Washington Mystics star Natasha Cloud told WRNB 100.3 that plans to bring a WNBA franchise to Philadelphia had “been in the works for a year and a half.”
June 2022: The Athletic reported that comedian Wanda Sykes was part of a formal bid to bring a WNBA franchise to Philadelphia.
July 2022: Flyers owner Comcast Spectacor, which also owns the Wells Fargo Center (soon to be the Xfinity Mobile Arena), expressed interest in collaborating with the Sixers to bring a WNBA team to the venue.
September 2024: During public meetings over the fate of the Sixers’ Center City arena proposal, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker revealed that the city had plans to submit a bid for a WNBA expansion franchise. “I know you notice we don’t have a WNBA team here in the city of Philadelphia. Any of y’all ever noticed that? Y’all know y’all’s mayor don’t like that,” Parker said. The Sixers confirmed that they had engaged in talks with the league about a team.
January 2025: After striking a deal to build a new arena for the Sixers and Flyers in South Philadelphia, the Sixers confirmed to The Inquirer that ownership had submitted a bid for a WNBA franchise, in which Comcast Spectacor would purchase a minority stake.
February 2025: Sports Business Journal reported that Philadelphia was a “clear front-runner” for an expansion franchise, alongside Cleveland and Houston.
June 2025: The WNBA and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment announced that a franchise would come to Philadelphia to start play in the 2030 season.
Spring 2028: The WNBA’s 16th franchise in Cleveland will begin playing.
Spring 2029: The WNBA’s 17th franchise in Detroit will begin playing.
2029: Based on past WNBA expansion history, the franchise likely will announce a team name and logo sometime in 2029.
December 2029: The likely time frame for the team’s expansion draft, based on past league expansions.
May 2030: The team will play its first games!
Fall 2031: The new South Philly arena, which will be home to the Sixers, Flyers, and the city’s new WNBA franchise, is set to open.