WNBA Commissioner on league expansion in Northern California
May 5, 2023, 10:44 AM
Yolanda Griffith #33 of the Sacramento Monarchs fights for rebound position against Ruth Riley #00 of the Detroit Shock during Game 3 of the 2006 WNBA Finals September 3, 2006 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California.
Could Northern California land a WNBA expansion team?
It sounds like a strong possibility, but it may not be in the city that once housed a championship team.
In a conversation with the Sports Business Journal, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert listed the Bay Area as a possible home once the league expands.
The league wanted to announce two expansion teams before the start of last season, but talks are still ongoing. Denver, Nashville, Toronto, Austin, Portland and Charlotte, were also listed as possible cities to house a new WNBA team. This list of 10 to 12 cities being eyed for expansion has been whittled down from around 100.
The league has not had an expansion team since 2008 when the Atlanta Dream was added. In 2018, the San Antonio Stars relocated to Las Vegas and changed their name to Aces. At its height, the league had 16 teams. But now, only 12 teams exist, with only 144 players able to play.
WNBA commish @CathyEngelbert told @AustinKarp today that the league started with a working doc of 100 potential cities for expansion; that list is down to 20. When asked about specific cities showing interest, she did name Bay Area, Nashville, Toronto, Denver, Austin, Charlotte.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) May 3, 2023
Are the Sacramento Monarchs returning to the WNBA?
Not mentioned in the list of possible expansion cities was Sacramento.
One of the original 16 teams, the Monarchs dissolved in 2009 after winning two conference championships and one WBNA championship in 2005. When Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé
bought the team nearly 10 years ago, there were rumors of possibly reviving the Monarchs, too, but nothing materialized.
With only one team in California, the Los Angeles Sparks, it makes sense the league adds another team in the Golden State. And while the Bay Area – San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose – is a bigger media market than Sacramento, the Monarchs didn’t get a proper goodbye to its fans. When the Maloofs announced they no longer wanted to operate the franchise, the league attempted to relocate the team to the Bay Area, but new owners weren’t found and team operations ceased.
“None of us knew our last game (in 2009) was our last game. That hurt,” Ticha Penicheiro, former Monarchs guard, told the Sacramento Bee in 2013.
The team may not have gotten a proper goodbye, but giving Sacramento a chance to become home to a WNBA team again would be a good start to mending those broken hearts.
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