Philly Mayor, Sixers Say They Want a WNBA Team in New Downtown Arena

The Sixers plan to submit a bid for a WNBA team.

The news was announced in quite an unexpected way. On Wednesday night, Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker gave an 80-slide presentation at a public meeting about the Sixers plan for a new downtown arena called 76 Place. The discussion came one week after the mayor initially expressed her support, which increased backlash about its potential impact on the next-door Chinatown neighborhood, including from Eagles legend Jason Kelce.

The 66th slide, titled “Other project components,” said the Sixers think the WNBA will continue growing, and “expect to submit a bid” for an expansion team. The slide also said the new arena will make the city “well-positioned” to house a WNBA team.

A 76ers spokesperson confirmed the news to Front Office Sports Thursday morning. “We share in Mayor Parker’s desire to bring a WNBA franchise to Philadelphia and have been engaged with the league on the process,” the spokesperson said. “Our goal is for our new arena to serve as home to both the 76ers and a WNBA franchise.”

“I know you notice we don’t have a WNBA team here in the city of Philadelphia, y’all know your mayor don’t like that,” Parker said. The mayor said she worked unsuccessfully in the past with former city and state officials to talk with women leading the charge to score a WNBA team. “I knew it was a long shot. But when they told me about the idea, I said, ‘You know, I’m gonna try,’” Parker said.

The mayor sees the new arena plans as a path forward for bringing women’s basketball to the city. “I will tell you that with this new Sixers arena there, there is no one who can tell me that Philadelphia just would not have upped its position in trying to pursue a WNBA team for our great city,” she said.

Philadelphia is on WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s short list of cities for league expansion in the next few years, with the goal of 16 total teams. Nashville, Denver, and South Florida are also on her radar.

Comedian Wanda Sykes was reportedly interested in pursuing a bid in 2022 that drew some support from potential investors, including 76ers co-owner David Adelman. He said in 2023 that he supports a WNBA team in Philadelphia, but thinks as two distinct leagues, the teams should have different owners.

And there’s the arena question. “I’m not going to bring a WNBA team right now and sign a second lease at the Wells Fargo Center. I’m already having issues in my current lease,” Adelman said on Crossing Broad Sports. The plans for 76 Place still need to pass a vote by the city council.

The WNBA awarded its 15th franchise to Portland this month. Toronto won a bid in May, and Golden State, which has since been named the Valkyries, were announced as the first expansion team in over a decade last year. The bids all went to current NBA owners: the Golden State Warriors, the Toronto Raptors, and the Sacramento Kings, which has ties to Portland through its ownership of the NWSL’s Thorns. The Valkyries will join the league next season, followed by the other two teams in 2026.