Denver Makes a Short List of Cities That Could Get a WNBA Franchise
By Shawn Patrick on May 3, 2023
The thought of getting a new professional sports franchise in Denver is an exciting one… But will a city that’s busy supporting a bunch of teams already get behind a WNBA team? We could find out!
Earlier today (May 3rd) WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Denver made the cut as the list of expansion cities had been slashed to 20 from around 100. She also named the Bay Area, Nashville, Toronto, Austin and Charlotte, among others.
There is no official word on when the league will expand, but they have not expanded since 2008 and no team has relocated since 2018. They’ve also seen great growth with TV viewership up 49% in the 2021 regular season over the 2020 slate, according to a story released last year in the Washington Post.
Maybe the biggest strike against Denver is that there isn’t an arena that is the right size. Ball Arena could be considered to big for most WNBA crowds, but I have been to Mammoth lacrosse games where they just don’t use the upper bowl, which could make sense here too.
Maybe because the Nuggets are so good, but I’ve got basketball fever, and my fingers are crossed!!
