Sixers submit bid to bring WNBA team to Philly

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February 2nd, 2025 | By Ryan Genova

The Philadelphia 76ers have made an official bid to bring a WNBA expansion team to the city, The Inquirer reported on Friday.

According to the story, the bid was expected ever since the Sixers and Comcast Spectacor abandoned the team’s plans to build an arena on Market Street in Center City. The deal was changed in January following Philadelphia City Council’s approval of the original proposal in December to build a new $1.3 billion arena. 1987 Cheltenham graduate Rue Landau was among those who voted against the proposal.

The new South Philly arena is expected to open in 2031. The Inquirer noted that Philly’s potential WNBA team does not yet have an official home or a start date.

“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 and trying to pursue a WNBA team for our great city,” Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said. “I can hope. I can dream. I can pray.”

In May 2020, NBC Philadelphia published a story titled “Philadelphia needs its own WNBA team, and we have some ideas“.

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Photo: X.com