Chicago Sky Shuffle Practice Venues As Facility Delay Continues

CHICAGO — The Chicago Sky’s permanent practice facility still has no firm opening date after months of delays. Now their practice location for the rest of the 2026 season is in flux, and it’s unclear whether the facility will be ready in time for WNBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago later this month.

The Sky’s new practice facility in Bedford Park, Illinois, was supposed to be completed by December 2025. That was the initial timeline when they first announced the facility in 2024, but the $60 million facility’s opening has been pushed back multiple times, bleeding into the 2026 season.

In late April, GM Jeff Pagliocca said it would be ready in “late spring, early summer.” Last week, a spokesperson for the Sky told Front Office Sports: “We expect to have more info soon on the exact date we will move into Bedford this season.” 

However, the Sky did not give a firm answer when asked whether the facility will be ready by the 2026 WNBA All-Star Weekend from July 24–25.

In October, when the WNBA announced the Sky as All-Star hosts, the press release said Chicago was going to hold the Three-Point Contest and Skills Challenge at Wintrust Arena, where the team plays its home games, and the All-Star Game at United Center, home of the NBA’s Bulls. WNBA Live, which is the league’s primary fan interactive area during All-Star Weekend, will be at McCormick Place across from Wintrust Arena.

The release also said it would host “community impact events” at the Sky’s new Bedford Park facility, about 15 miles from Wintrust Arena, and just outside Chicago’s west border.

The WNBA All-Star website still shows the same information for the location of the All-Star Game, competitions, and WNBA Live, but there is no information on whether the practice facility will be used. The league is expected to announce more information about All-Star Weekend events this week.

The city of Bedford Park did not respond to a request for comment. 

However, the agenda for the city’s June 15 board meeting included 10 budget approval requests for the “Chicago Sky Portion of Wintrust Sports Complex Phase 2” totalling about $600,000. (Its most recent board meeting on June 29 did not include topics related to the Sky.)

Moving Practices

Despite the practice facility delays, the team did not return to the recreational center in Chicago’s northwest suburbs where they spent more than 15 years, instead announcing a partnership with University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC) that allowed the franchise to train at the university from April 19–May 30. The Flames Athletics Center is west of downtown Chicago, about two miles from Wintrust Arena.

The Sky paid $160,000, based on 32 rental days at a rate of $5,000 per day, to rent the facilities during that period, according to documents obtained by FOS.

The Sky were still able to hold a few practices at UIC in the first half of June. Most of their practices have since been at Wintrust Arena, also the primary home of DePaul basketball.

But in mid June, the Sky also held a pair of practices at another college: Loyola University Chicago on the city’s northside, about 10 miles north of Wintrust Arena. 

A team spokesperson said Wintrust Arena will host the majority of the team’s practices while awaiting the facility, but said UIC and Loyola remain options for the future.

UIC deferred to the Sky when asked whether they could still host future practices. But a UIC spokesperson confirmed that summer practices for the school’s men’s and women’s basketball teams have begun at the Flames Athletic Center. 

A Loyola spokesperson told FOS after it hosted two Sky practices that the school has not heard from the franchise yet about any future plans.

“Loyola Chicago Athletics was pleased to accommodate the Chicago Sky’s temporary practice facility needs recently. At this time, there are no plans for additional use of Loyola facilities by the Sky,” the spokesperson said in June.

Until this week, players and coaches don’t appear to be concerned about the changing practice venues, despite an already difficult start to the season for the Sky. But on Monday, star guard Skylar Diggins posted on social media hinting at frustration due to being moved to a bench role, before commenting further on the change at practice that day.

“That’s my boss,” Diggins said, referring to head coach Tyler Marsh. “Even if I don’t like decisions, I have to be a pro and go with whatever he thinks.”

She also directly called out the Sky’s still-incomplete practice facility: “I was thinking we were going to be in a practice facility. And other things that were told to me. And that’s not been the case. There’s been things outside of people’s control that I understand, too, a lot of moving parts. Lots of places I’ve been were in that process as well, so I get it. But it’s hard to perform at a certain level without those.”

Marsh said ahead of their June 17 home game against the New York Liberty that he doesn’t “think there’s any change” in the team’s practice performance despite moving out of UIC.

Sky guard Jacy Sheldon dismissed any difficulties caused by shifting practice venues, telling Front Office Sports: “That doesn’t matter. A gym’s a gym, right?” Rookie Sydney Taylor acknowledged that changing venues could come with difficulties, but praised the team’s effort.

“We’re playing in different gyms, different places, so that can be hard to adjust to, but I think that the energy has been great the last couple of days,” Taylor told CSOM Sports in June.

Improved facilities were a key point from the WNBPA during its latest CBA negotiations. The new CBA includes new practice facility requirements, including private and exclusive weight rooms, cardio areas, bathrooms, and lockers.

Teams will only be subject to possible penalties from the league if they fail to comply by the 2028 season. Next year, teams must make “reasonable efforts to comply” with the CBA’s requirements.