Golden State Valkyries eclipse 17,000 season ticket deposits ahead of WNBA debut in 2025 (original) (raw)

The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA expansion team that will join the league ahead of the 2025 season, said Friday that they surpassed 17,000 season-ticket deposits, becoming the first professional women’s sports team to pass that mark.

Deposits don’t guarantee that the individual will buy the full season-ticket package, but in a WNBA season that has seen attendance, viewership and attention up across the league, the mark is impressive considering the franchise doesn’t yet have a roster or coach. The only team in the WNBA that averages more than 17,000 fans per home game is the Indiana Fever. The New York Liberty (12,646), the Las Vegas Aces (11,381), the Los Angeles Sparks (11,032) and the Seattle Storm (11,005) round out the top five for WNBA home attendance, according to Across The Timeline.

The WNBA, which has had 12 teams since 2010 — after the Sacramento Monarchs franchise folded following the 2009 season — has yet to announce where the Valkyries will pick in the college players or expansion draft.

Earlier in the week, the Valkyries released renderings for their practice facility in Oakland and locker room at the Chase Center.

“It’s 31,800 feet of excellence.” –General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin on the #Valkyries Practice Facility in Oakland pic.twitter.com/kh8L7Dx8yN

— Golden State Valkyries (@wnbagoldenstate) September 12, 2024

The Valkyries won’t be the only new team joining the WNBA in the near future. A team in Toronto will begin play in 2026, and The Athletic has previously reported the league intends to expand to 16 teams.

Required reading

• Which team will be the biggest WNBA playoff threat? Our experts debate
• The Golden State Valkyries: Bay Area WNBA expansion team unveils name

(Logo: Golden State Valkyries)

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Chantel Jennings is The Athletic's senior writer for the WNBA and women's college basketball. She covered college sports for the past decade at ESPN.com and The Athletic and spent the 2019-20 academic year in residence at the University of Michigan's Knight-Wallace Fellowship for Journalists. Follow Chantel on Twitter @chanteljennings