(KRON) – The Golden State Warriors have officially been awarded a Women’s National Basketball Association expansion franchise; the WNBA announced Thursday. The team will begin play in the 2025 WNBA season and play home games at the Chase Center.
The announcement marks the first WNBA expansion in 15 years.
“The Bay Area is the perfect market for a WNBA team, and we are thrilled this opportunity has finally come to fruition,” said Warriors Co-Executive Chairman & CEO Joe Lacob. “We have been interested in a WNBA franchise for several years, due in part to the rich history of women’s basketball in the Bay Area, and believe now is the ideal time to execute that vision and build upon that legacy. The WNBA continues to solidify itself as the preeminent women’s professional basketball league, and we look forward to supporting the best women’s basketball players in the world and our team starting in 2025.”
The new WNBA team’s headquarters will be the Warriors’ Oakland facility. The team’s brand identity will be identified at a later date, according to a statement from the Golden State Warriors.
“We are thrilled about expanding to the Bay Area and bringing the WNBA to a region with passionate basketball fans and a strong history of supporting women’s basketball,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “Joe Lacob, Peter Guber, and their leadership team know how to build and operate a world-class organization, as witnessed by the immense success the Warriors’ franchise has enjoyed from both a business and basketball perspective over the last decade. Their interest in joining the WNBA family is yet another sign of the league’s growth potential.”
Fans who want to purchase season ticket memberships can do so by placing a deposit at wnba.com/goldenstate.
The Warriors WNBA expansion team joins Bay FC in the National Womens Soccer League as the second female sports franchise to be granted to the Bay Area in the past year.
