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The Los Angeles Sparks’ revolutionary decision that puts the WNBA on notice originally appeared on The Sporting News
As one of the WNBA’s eight original franchises (and one of only four still in existence), the Los Angeles Sparks have plenty of history to fall back on — but times have been tougher in recent years.
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The Sparks, the WNBA’s winningest franchise, have missed the playoffs five years running. Los Angeles has not finished above .500 since the COVID-shortened 2020 season; franchise icons like Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike have departed in that time.
But with rising stars in Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, as well as a championship-caliber floor general in Kelsey Plum, Los Angeles has reasons to anticipate success in 2026 — and a franchise announcement this week portends a sustainable contention cycle in the years to come.
MORE:Â Why Sparks’ Cameron Brink gives Los Angeles plenty of hope for 2026
The Sparks on Wednesday proclaimed the dawn of a new era and a new standard in women’s sports by announcing a 55,000-square-foot, $150 million practice facility in El Segundo that the franchise plans to open in time for the 2027 WNBA season. At 1.5 times the cost of the Phoenix Mercury’s training center, is the largest investment to date in a WNBA practice facility, and the Sparks are promising world-class amenities for a group of players that is on the rise.
The Sparks’ facility will have an “indoor-outdoor player sanctuary” that makes it stand out amid a wave of new facilities set to open around the WNBA in the next 18 months. With views of the nearby mountains and the Pacific Ocean, Sparks players will make use of an outdoor spa pool and state-of-the-art weight rooms before — and after — practicing on two WNBA regulation-sized courts.
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The investment shows that the Sparks are no longer messing about after a half-decade of struggles. Los Angeles is ready to throw its weight around in a bid to capture the glory that once defined the franchise when players like Parker, Ogwumike and Lisa Leslie roamed downtown LA.
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