Report: WNBA Eyeing 2 Expansion Teams; Philadelphia, San Francisco Among Candidates

The WNBA is looking into the possibility of expansion with the hopes of adding one or two teams to the league.

According to Chantel Jennings and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is spearheading the process and said it is possible the expansion team or teams could begin play as early as the 2024 season.

Engelbert said the WNBA is down to 10 to 12 cities that it is considering for expansion, although she didn't name them.

Jennings and Vorkunov speculated that Philadelphia, San Francisco, Toronto as well as Nashville, Tennessee; Oakland, California; and Portland, Oregon, are in the mix.

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The WNBA has 12 teams, and if it does bring in an expansion team or two, it will mark the first time since the Atlanta Dream in 2008 that the WNBA added a team.

Per Jennings and Vorkunov, one of the driving forces behind the WNBA's desire to expand is calls from the players to create more opportunity.

Currently, a maximum of 144 players can play in the league at any given time because of the number of teams and roster limits, which forces teams to make tough decisions on players who may be good enough and deserving to play in the WNBA.

Additionally, the WNBA is in a good place financially after a $75 million capital raise in February as well as the incorporation of new partners and investors that pushed the league's value to $475 million.

Choosing expansion teams from the right markets could lead to even more profit and growth, and there are several factors the league is taking into account when making that decision.

Engelbert said a city's "population, political affiliation and policies, and generational demographics" will all be considered.

The league would also like for expansion cities to already have a viable arena in place, as Engelbert wants there to be an 18- to 24-month turnaround from when the expansion franchise is chosen to when it begins play.

The most teams the WNBA ever had at once was 16 from 2000 to 2002, followed by 14 in 2003, 2006 and 2008.

Since 2010, the WNBA has had 12 teams in the wake of the Houston Comets and Sacramento Monarchs both folding. Now, the league is looking to perhaps return to that 2008 level if it can find two worthy expansion cities.