Professional Women’s Sports Leagues Are Busy Adding Franchises

The WNBA, NWSL and PWHL are all expanding into new markets as the popularity of women’s professional … [+] sports leagues continue to grow. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

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

The 12-team WNBA has already announced expansion plans. In October 2023 the league announced Golden State was granted a franchise. They will begin play starting with the 2025 season. The team will be called the Valkyries. (In Norse mythology Valkyries were known as fearless women warriors). The Valkyries will be the WNBA’s first expansion team since the 2008 season.

The team owners are Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, the owners of the Golden State Warriors. In September the Valkyries announced they had exceeded 17,000 season-ticket deposits. The team will operate out of Oakland and play home games at the 18,000-seat Chase Center. The entry fee for Golden State is $50 billion. (By comparison, the last expansion franchise, the Atlanta Dream, paid $10 million in 2008.)

The WNBA will then be expanding to 15 franchises with the addition of Toronto (announced in May 2024) and Portland (announced in September 2024), both are scheduled to begin play with the 2026 season. Toronto will be the franchise will be the WNBA’s first in Canada.

The Toronto team will be run by Kilmer Sports Ventures. The team will play home games at the 8,000-seat Coca-Cola Coliseum in downtown Toronto. Additional games will be played at Scotiabank Arena (home to the Toronto Raptors and the Toronto Maple Leafs) along with other locations throughout Canada. Toronto ownership is paying $115 million for the team and is building a practice facility.

The Portland team will be owned and operated by RAJ Sports and led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal. The team will be playing home games at the 20,500-seat Moda Center (formerly Rose Garden), the same arena as the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. Previously, the Portland Fire had played in the WNBA for three seasons 2000 to 2002. There are reports the Portland franchise will cost $125 million.

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert expects the WNBA to have 16 franchises in 2028. The commissioner is said to be evaluating 12 markets. It’s reported that Patrick and Brittany Mahomes are interested in an WNBA in Kansas City. Jayson Tatum is reportedly interested in a franchise in St. Louis. The Milwaukee Bucks ownership is also expected to make a bid. Other potential locations include Orlando, Jacksonville, Denver, Miami, Nashville and Philadelphia.

In September 2023, the 14-team NWSL announced they will be adding Boston as their 15th franchise, beginning with the 2026 season. The franchise recently revealed the team’s name, BOS Nation FC. The entry fee for the Boston franchise cost was $53 million, the same amount for the 14th franchise the Bay FC (San Francisco Bay Area) which began play this year. Since the value of NWSL has grown notably in the past year, the entry fee for the new franchise could approach $100 million.

Last January, the Bhatel family paid $63 million to purchase the Portland Thorns FC. In March, the San Diego Wave FC was acquired by the Levine Lichtman Family in a deal valued at $113 million. More recently, last September, Robert Iger and Willow Bay acquired the Angel City FC for $250 million, a record price for a women’s sports team.

Boston Unity Soccer Partners, an “all-female core ownership group,” will be heading up the new NWSL franchise. Among the team’s investors include actress Elizabeth Banks and Olympic gold medal gymnast Aly Reisman, both are natives of Massachusetts. BOS Nation FC will be playing their home games at White Stadium in Franklin Park. The ownership group announced plans to renovate White Stadium at an estimated cost of $30 million. At present, the seating capacity is just over 10,000.

For the 16th franchise NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said last April they were looking at twelve possible ownership groups. Sports Business Journal reports there are now five leading candidates to land the 16th NWSL franchise; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Nashville and Philadelphia. A decision is expected before the end of the year. Commissioner Berman has not made any comments on whether the league will expand beyond 16 franchises.

Last month, PWHL announced plans to add two new franchises, perhaps as soon as the 2025-26 season. According to Sportico, the PWHL expects to have proposals by year end. The hockey league is looking at over 20 potential markets.

The PWHL began play with the 2023-24 season after the Mark Walter Group acquired the assets of the Premier Hockey League. The Mark Walter Group also owns the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Unlike other professional women’s sports leagues, the PWHL does not have any individual team owners, all six teams are owned by The Mark Walter Group. Among the members of the PWHL advisory board include tennis greats Billie Jean King and Ilona Kloss as well as Los Angeles Dodgers president Stan Kasten among others.

The league currently operates six franchises; Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa and Toronto. Among the possible locations for expansion are Detroit and Pittsburgh, last season both markets hosted neutral-site games with more scheduled for this season. Other potential expansion markets include Denver, Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago, Quebec City and Calgary. The second season of the PWHL begins on November 30.

Last month, a new women’s sports league was announced, The Women’s Pro Baseball League. The league will begin play in the summer of 2026. At first, there will be six franchises all located in the Northeast, although no markets have been selected. The founders of the WPBL are lawyer and businessman Keith Stein and Justine Siegel, founder of Baseball For All. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, a subject in the feature film, A League of Their Own, folded in 1954.

Marketers are taking note of growing popularity in women’s sports. Earlier this year, the WPP-owned GroupM, one of the world’s largest media agencies, announced plans to double the amount of advertising dollars their clients invest with women’s sports. Last month, GroupM announced they had exceeded their initial goal over the course of a few months.

GroupM noted over 20 brands had grown the investment in women’s sports including; adidas, Adobe, Ally, Coinbase, Danone, Discover, Domino’s, DoorDash, Google, indeed, Mars, method, Nationwide, Target, TJ Maxx, Unilever, Universal Pictures and Volvo Car USA.

In the press release, Denise Ocasio, Executive Director of Investment, GroupM US said. “The Women’s Sports Marketplace opened a new frontier in advertising, where we’re shifting beyond traditional media strategies to embrace customization, premium content, and innovative ad formats. This proves that real value comes from deeper, more impactful engagement. It’s not just about visibility — it’s about fueling a cultural shift that connects with consumers on a more meaningful level.”

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