rewrite this content and keep HTML tags (remove this from content : rewrite this content and keep HTML tags)
The passion for the WNBA has grown so quickly that it can sell out arenas even in cities without a team. Even in this one.
Baltimore showed its voracious appetite for basketball in May, when fans sold out the 11,183-seat CFG Bank Arena for a matchup between the Washington Mystics and the Indiana Fever, even without All-Star Caitlin Clark in uniform. The fervor sparks a natural question: Why couldn’t Baltimore have its own WNBA team?
Democratic Rep. Johnny Olszewski Jr. was more or less daydreaming when he tweeted last week, “let’s put Baltimore on the next @WNBA expansion list.” City leaders are fond of saying Baltimore is a basketball town, but aside from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association tournament and the occasional game at CFG (the Maryland men’s team returns to Baltimore in November after a long hiatus), there aren’t a lot of signature events that back up the city’s hoops credentials.
But Olszewski — like any good politician — believes in the potential of the region. Standing 6 feet 6, he played center for Sparrows Point High School, and his 10-year-old daughter is an aspiring hooper, too.
“We know that the WNBA in particular is exploding right now,” he said. “Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark are becoming household names. They’re inspiring little kids of all ages, boys and girls. You couple that with Baltimore has a storied history of basketball, whether it’s Carmelo Anthony or Angel Reese — and you put that all together, and Baltimore is a basketball town.
“As the W considers expansion,” he added, “I don’t see any reason why Baltimore shouldn’t be at the top of that list moving forward.”
Olszewski’s tweet made me seriously think about the question, though. What would it take for Baltimore to get a WNBA team? After consulting folks who know the league well, I found the answer is an expensive, time-consuming list.
But let’s assume it can be done. Let’s live in the world of possibility. Let’s imagine a world where our resources and alignment match our hunger for basketball. Here’s what would need to happen for a Baltimore WNBA team:
1. A rich owner
Call Steve Bisciotti. Call David Rubenstein. Heck, call Kevin Plank. If you know someone rich, ask if they’re willing to buy a new team.
The last round of expansion teams — in Detroit (2028), Cleveland (2029) and Philadelphia (2030) — cost $250 million each in fees. Only two years ago, that cost was just $50 million when Golden State bought into the league. That shows the scale and speed of the league’s growth, and it could make buying in more expensive if the league chooses to renegotiate the $2.2 billion media rights deal it landed a year ago.
This is why WNBA players are pushing aggressively to expand their share of revenue in a new collective bargaining agreement. Team values are rising because owners smell a lot of money on the horizon. But Baltimore would be late in the game for a good deal on expansion and it’s hard to say exactly how aggressively the league will keep adding beyond 18 teams.
Notably, expansion teams in Golden State, Portland, Toronto, Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia are all NBA markets, which seems to be the W’s safety zone. One of the markets seemingly in consideration is Houston, which has the NBA’s Rockets and used to be the home of the Houston Comets, one of the original WNBA franchises.
“I would say we have entered this period the last two years [of] what I call ‘hyper growth,’” Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said this month at the All-Star Game. “We’re not going to be in hyper growth forever. No company ever is.”
2. A long-term home
The answer feels more straightforward than it is. Why wouldn’t you play W games at the recently renovated CFG Arena? It has successfully hosted basketball in the last few years, and the seating capacity is about the right size.
But, in the present, CFG is a concert-focused venue that is more equipped to turn around one-offs for the WNBA or college basketball than a full schedule of 22 home games among its 60-some annual concert dates. There would need to be serious talks at the city level to see if the arena would be willing to host a W team full time and, if so, how it would address the logicstical turnarounds for different needs.
The WNBA is also looking for high-level practice facilities to host players and approach the resources that the NBA provides. Because Baltimore doesn’t have an NBA team, a pro-caliber facility would likely have to be built. Engelbert touted “tens of millions” of dollars being spent on practice facilities recently, to give you an idea of price tag.
3. Tireless civic advocacy
When Portland was campaigning for a team in 2023, it hosted Engelbert at the Sports Bra, a women’s sports bar in the city, in a visit spearheaded by Sen. Ron Wyden. It had coaches from Oregon and Oregon State, executives from the Portland Trail Blazers and the Portland Thorns (women’s soccer) teams. They touted the area’s interest in basketball and in women’s sports, and offered a vision of a regional rivalry with the Seattle Storm.
It’s that kind of alignment that helps cities win bids for sports teams and big events. Olszewski may have started a casual call, but it will take investment from more state leaders on a national scale. In Brandon Scott, Baltimore has a mayor who loves basketball. He and the Maryland Stadium Authority have helped secure the CIAA tournament in the city.
But the WNBA is levels above a Division II college tournament — Baltimore’s contingent would have to include Orioles and Ravens officials, along with Maryland coaches Buzz Williams and Brenda Frese (although College Park hedges closer to D.C., which is another uphill piece of the battle). The league evaluates metrics such as ratings, women’s and girls’ sports participation, and merchandise sales in the regions it considers.
The area’s interest in the W is fueled in part by Baltimore-raised stars, including Angel McCoughtry and now headlined by Reese. Olszewski named a court after her in Randallstown two years ago and has admiration for how quickly her star has risen — and the way she has inspired kids who wish to follow in her footsteps.
Reese was one of the WNBA’s All-Stars who wore a shirt advocating for fair pay in the league, which Olszweski said he supports: “[The pay is] woefully out of balance, at least on a proportional basis. I’m a very strong supporter of an equal pay structure that’s more reflective of, without the talent, there’s no league.”
Similarly, there’s no expansion team without a great deal of resources and support lined up. It’s more of a vision than a true path for now, but there’s no reason that — with the right pieces in place — Baltimore can’t assert itself as a contender for the basketball it has long craved.
