Professional Women’s Sports Leagues Are Busy Adding Franchises

As the popularity of women’s sports with viewers and marketers continues to rise, three professional sports leagues have announced plans to expand into new markets. The WNBA (basketball), NWSL (soccer), and PWHL (ice hockey) are all in the process of adding teams to their respective leagues.

The WNBA, which currently has 12 teams, recently announced its expansion plans. In October 2023, the league awarded a franchise to Golden State, with the team set to start playing in the 2025 season under the name Valkyries. Owned by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, the team already has over 17,000 season-ticket deposits and will play at the Chase Center in Oakland with an entry fee of $50 million.

Following Golden State, the WNBA is expanding to include Toronto (announced in May 2024) and Portland (announced in September 2024), with both teams expected to begin play in the 2026 season. Toronto will be the first Canadian team in the WNBA and will play their games at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Portland, which previously had a team called Portland Fire, will play their home games at Moda Center and is reported to cost $125 million.

In the NWSL, the league announced in September 2023 that Boston will be their 15th franchise, starting in the 2026 season under the name BOS Nation FC. The entry fee for Boston matches the value of the previous franchise at $53 million, leading to expectations of a higher entry fee for future franchises due to the league’s increasing value.

For the 16th franchise in the NWSL, cities such as Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Nashville, and Philadelphia are being considered as potential locations. The league’s expansion may be decided by the end of the year, with Boston Unity Soccer Partners heading up the Boston franchise.

Lastly, the PWHL recently announced plans to add two new franchises by the 2025-26 season, looking at over 20 potential markets for expansion. The league, owned by The Mark Walter Group, has six current franchises in locations like Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto, with potential new markets including Detroit, Pittsburgh, Washington, and more.

Alongside the growth of women’s sports leagues, marketers are taking notice and increasing their investment in women’s sports, with companies like Adidas, Google, and Target among those boosting their advertising dollars in women’s sports leagues.