Philadelphia has a rich basketball history, and Mayor Cherelle Parker and the 76ers want to add a new team to the city for basketball fans to cheer on.
During a public meeting at the Pennsylvania Convention Center about the plan for the Sixers’ proposed Center City arenaParker said she believes the new arena could help Philadelphia’s cause to land a WNBA franchise.
“We don’t have a WNBA team here in the city of Philadelphia,” Parker said Wednesday night. ‘Have any of you ever noticed that? You all know the mayor doesn’t like that.’
On Thursday, the Sixers confirmed that the team will try to bring a WNBA team to town if the arena is built.
“We share Mayor Parker’s desire to bring a WNBA franchise to Philadelphia and are committed to the league in this process,” a Sixers spokesperson said in a statement. “Our goal is for our new arena to serve as the home base for both the 76ers and a WNBA franchise.”
Before Parker shared her hopes for a WNBA franchise in the city Wednesday night, she said she previously worked with a “dynamic group of women” trying to bring a team to the city while she was working as a city councilwoman.
While she was the City Council majority leader, Parker said she had conversations with then-Mayor Jim Kenney, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Council President Darrell Clarke during the COVID-19 pandemic about bringing a team to the city. Parker said she received support, but it was unsuccessful.
“I want us to continue to work extremely hard, as hard as we can, but united,” Parker said.
The WNBA has grown in popularity in recent years and the league has expanded. By 2026, the WNBA will have 15 teams. Portland, Oregon, California’s Golden State and Toronto all recently received expansion franchises.
In April, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, a native of Collingswood, New Jersey who played college basketball at Lehigh University, said: Philadelphia was in the running for a franchise.
The Sixers’ arena proposal still has many issues to overcome, but Parker and the Sixers are hopeful the new facility can deliver success. WNBA franchise.
“With this Sixers arena right there, there’s no one who can tell me that Philadelphia simply wouldn’t have elevated its standing by trying to pursue a WNBA team for our great city,” Parker said. “I can dream. I can hope. I can pray.”
