adding 2 in one instance would be such a big win. there then wouldn’t need to be such an appetite to expand further (not saying it isn’t needed, just that the pressure to do so would decrease), in which those two and the entirety of the league itself could get acclimated. perhaps roster expansion then shifts to the forefront, especially as the current CBA would likely be opted out of between the '25 & '26 seasons, basically running right into that timeline of feeling out the 14-team landscape.
could be that Engelbert played this to perfection – but only if we see Portland announced in time for 2025.
Englebert absolutely played this to perfection despite all the fan griping that she wasn’t doing anything. She got (likely) two strong ownership groups to buy in at 50million, will have a strong negotiating stance for the next TV deal and once the new TV deal is signed, she will have a very strong negotiating position with any teams that want to join. She has considerably raised the value of the league and the teams. I think it may even be smarter to relocate a team or two prior to additional expansion.
Imagine if GS and Portland have respectable attendance right out of the gate and a team like Indiana gets relocated to an in demand market? With ore strong ownership groups in the league, she can then put pressure on the clown show organizations to get it together.
She has maximized potential at every step. I hope she sticks around for a while but something tells me she will move on to something much bigger once her mark is left on the league.
adding 2 in one instance would be such a big win. there then wouldn’t need to be such an appetite to expand further (not saying it isn’t needed, just that the pressure to do so would decrease), in which those two and the entirety of the league itself could get acclimated. perhaps roster expansion then shifts to the forefront, especially as the current CBA would likely be opted out of between the '25 & '26 seasons, basically running right into that timeline of feeling out the 14-team landscape.
could be that Engelbert played this to perfection – but only if we see Portland announced in time for 2025.
Englebert absolutely played this to perfection despite all the fan griping that she wasn’t doing anything. She got (likely) two strong ownership groups to buy in at 50million, will have a strong negotiating stance for the next TV deal and once the new TV deal is signed, she will have a very strong negotiating position with any teams that want to join. She has considerably raised the value of the league and the teams. I think it may even be smarter to relocate a team or two prior to additional expansion.
Imagine if GS and Portland have respectable attendance right out of the gate and a team like Indiana gets relocated to an in demand market? With ore strong ownership groups in the league, she can then put pressure on the clown show organizations to get it together.
She has maximized potential at every step. I hope she sticks around for a while but something tells me she will move on to something much bigger once her mark is left on the league.
she deserves some credit right now, but i will give her the remainder of the credit if she can get Portland announced in a timely manner. just needs to be in time for them to play in 2025. good to hear there's at least smoke surrounding it from multiple directions. we may not need to hear much from her in 2024.
agree about the point about the clown-show organizations. looking at you, Indiana and Dallas. Atlanta has good new owners, but man oh man, do they need to figure out their long-term arena situation ASAP or what.
on one hand, some of these less-liked Commissioners have been on the job for a long time. (MLB's & NBA's since 2014. NFL's since 2006. NHL's since 1993!) on the other hand, the W's history with at least their Presidents [since they didn't technically have a Commissioner until Engelbert] is well-storied, and you wonder if Engelbert doing a better job means the chances would grow more likely that the NBA themselves would prefer Engelbert on their side...
The men's leagues you mentioned all hired insiders, people who had been working in their league office for years. That leads to longer tenures. The W has never done that. After Val they've all been outside hires.
I hate to say I told you so ... OK, I love to say I told you so ...
OAKLAND — A group tapped by the city to help develop a $5 billion plan to transform the forsaken Coliseum complex into a hub of live sports and entertainment appears to be fracturing, with two of the founding members suing the others.
The legal complaint filed this month ensnares one of the six partner organizations in the African-American Sports and Entertainment Group. Two of the eight members within the flagship entity are alleging their equity shares in the project were unfairly diluted.
None of the parties involved in the complaint — filed in the Alameda County court — agreed to be interviewed on the record, but documents and video evidence obtained from the group paint a starkly different picture than the one presented in the complaint, calling its central claims into question.
The group ultimately plans to acquire Oakland’s share of the Coliseum property for $115 million, and earlier this year it unsuccessfully tried to buy the site’s other half-ownership share, which belongs to the likely departing A’s.
I take it Portland will get in eventually, but the renovations at Moda Center will delay the announcement and whenever they start. Curious to see who's the new frontrunner for team #14. First Toronto gets scrapped, and now Portland is put on hold.
Cathy essentially didn't want the team to play their first two seasons at Moda Center, and then be displaced for 2027. hard to establish a long-term fan base by having the team get displaced in their third season. Portland could get a WNBA franchise in 2028 though.
Now I wonder who could be team #14? Cathy wants 14 teams for 2025. 13 teams could be a scheduling nightmare. Toronto withdrew, Denver's arena choice was substandard, and Philadephia, Charlotte, and Nashville have no traction.
Joe Lacob is cheering in the background. Imagine the expansion draft if two teams were created in one season -- or alternately, imagine the uproar if teams were only allowed to protect five.
I think, based on nothing, the Moda work is a smokescreen. They had to have known about that all along.
And if Kirk Brown dropped out, the money wasn't there, most likely. Now why he dropped out, if he did, would be a very interesting bit of information.
Finally, I don't think Indiana's folding, or they would have moved to Golden State.
Would the owners of the Trailblazers step up? What about the new owners of the Portland Thorns of the NWSL?
For those that do not know, the Blazers are still owned by Paul Allen's estate and his sister is supposed to sell them, but it is kind of in her best interest to not do that for as long as possible. I can't see her doing anything to bring any more attention to the situation like the big investment of a WNBA team. The delay would give an opportunity for new Thorns ownership to show that they can operate a professional sports team, but who knows if there will be capital for both, especially if training facilities was any part of the concern.
So who's at fault here? Cathy, or the ownership groups? Kind of felt like the league was easily going to get to 16 teams by 2027 with Portland, Denver and Toronto joining the league. Now, it appears, we'll be stuck at 13 teams until further notice.
So who's at fault here? Cathy, or the ownership groups? Kind of felt like the league was easily going to get to 16 teams by 2027 with Portland, Denver and Toronto joining the league. Now, it appears, we'll be stuck at 13 teams until further notice.
First, "at fault" assumes expanding by two teams in one year makes sense. From a quality of product standpoint, it clearly does not. The talent pool remains shallow in terms of star power, though obviously there are a lot of good players who can handle rotation roles in the league.
Of course there are good reasons to jump by two teams, but I am far from convinced it's in anyone's best interest to do so.
Second, Cathy is not really ever at fault, as she makes no decisions. She executes the decisions made by whoever owns the league. She's not negotiating for the league -- she's reporting back on offers to the owners, who decide the next step. Some stories suggest the team name was an issue, but please -- if the money's right, that doesn't matter. The MODA situation doesn't make much sense either, as that renovation has been on the calendar for years. A substantive issue, presumably financial, caused the owners to stop the process with Kirk Brown, or vice versa. Cathy had nothing to do with it.
Third, the Golden State numbers suggested that Lacob had to account for $50 million to get a team. That's a long way from the $20 million AASEG reported, and the $10 million it was a decade ago. Let's say that it's only $30 million, or even $25 million -- that's a lot of spare change to come up with with a media deal about to run out. To me, it seems like the prospective owners hold all the cards, as there aren't that many entities with that much money to invest in the WNBA. We can hear all the happy talk about Philadelphia and Bentonville (remember?) and whatever city council member wants to get some headlines, but the investment of time, money and energy to get a team off the ground requires so much that only a few groups can even think about doing it.
It would be great if the league continued to expand, and could do so while retaining the quality of the product. But until we see some deeper drafts, I don't think going two at a time is the right way to go.