Moments after the Golden State Valkyries made history as the first WNBA expansion franchise to clinch a playoff berth in their first season, a harsh reality set in.
The Valkyries’ beloved Ballhalla—the team’s nickname for the Chase Center—will not be available for the franchise’s first playoff game.
“For our historic playoff berth we will replicate the energy that was so loud here tonight at Ballhalla in a new environment,” Valkyries president Jess Smith said in a statement to season ticket holders. “Due to a previously scheduled event at Chase Center, our first round game will be played at SAP Center in San Jose.”
The Valkyries are 23–18 with three games left in the regular season. As one of the bottom-four seeds, they will host Game 2 of the three-game first round series. The WNBA changed its playoff format after last season, bringing back a 1-1-1 format. The higher seed will host games 1 and 3.
The Laver Cup—Roger Federer’s international men’s team tennis tournament—has the Chase Center booked Friday, September 19 to Sunday September 21. They booked the venue in 2023, before the Valkyries existed, according to Smith’s statement. She added that the team explored other options in an attempt to host the game at their regular venue to no avail.
The SAP Center is an hour’s drive south of San Francisco, over 40 miles away by the shortest route. The team explored closer venues, like Oakland Arena, which also had a scheduling conflict, Smith said. There is a Sam Hui benefit concert at the arena on September 20.
The issue is a longstanding one in the WNBA. In 2018, the Mystics were booted from Capital One Arena and forced to play three of their playoff games at George Washington University’s Charles E. Smith Center. Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, which decided the series, was played at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia, with a capacity of 10,000 and 20 miles away from Capital One.
The same year, the Mercury had a playoff game moved from their home arena to Arizona State’s Desert Financial Arena because of a J. Cole concert. In 2019, the Sparks were moved to Long Beach State because of the Emmy Awards red carpet.
The Mercury were displaced again in 2021 for two playoff games. The team’s first-round, single elimination game was moved to GCU Arena because of a concert. They were moved again in the semifinals to Desert Financial Arena due to Disney on Ice, and nearly had to move another semifinal game because of a Suns preseason game. Instead, the Suns and Mercury—who have the same owners—played a doubleheader.
Liberty forward and two-time MVP Breanna Stewart shared her annoyance with the Valkyries’ situation in an interview with Bay Area publication SFGATE.
“You want to think that you’re past it,” Stewart said. “We want to think that we’re, like, better than this. Listen, sometimes it’s out of the control of everyone involved. But it’s just …you don’t see it happening with the NBA.”
The Valkyries led the league in attendance averaging 18,064 fans per game. The Fever are next on the list provided by Across The Timeline with 16,665. The Liberty’s 16,245 average home attendance is third in the league.
Fans and media members alike praised the environment at the Chase Center for the Valkyries’ playoff-clinching win over the Dallas Wings on Thursday night. Coach of the Year candidate Natalie Nakase commended the San Francisco fans postgame.
“The crowd was unbelievable tonight,” she said. “I couldn’t hear anything.”
The team will look to recreate that energy in San Jose.
