I was watching a little bit of the U.S./Germany women’s basketball game last week, a few days after Comcast sent out a 176-page report on the positives and negatives of the proposed Market Street Sixers arena. It’s a lot to digest as we wait for the months-late PIDC study, but the combination of those two things got me thinking again about the WNBA angle of this saga.

If we’re concerned about not having enough events to justify two arenas, doesn’t it make sense for an expansion team to fill part of the void?

In assorted interviews over the past year, we asked both sides about it. David Adelman, Sixers co-owner and 76Place lead, said this in the summer of 2023:

“We’ve talked about (WNBA). And even before I got involved with the team, Wanda Sykes is kind of leading the group looking to do the WNBA team. I’ve been deeply involved in discussions with them. I’ve offered to personally invest. But two things, one, 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. And it’s no disrespect to them, but why would I enter into a second relationship? Number two, we feel strongly, and the NBA feels strongly, that the (controlling) owner of a WNBA team shouldn’t be an NBA owner. They want this to be the number one priority of the (ownership) team. There’s a lot of rhetoric coming from others out there trying to position us, (asking) why we aren’t doing it. There was a great article that came out about how Comcast can’t afford it. I mean, that was wild to me, the idea that their shareholders wouldn’t approve. I don’t know if their shareholders approved of the $400 million they just spent (on the arena upgrades), so the $50 million for a WNBA team shouldn’t be a problem. But as the landlord of our own building, we’re open to hosting the WNBA. Just as a landlord we would welcome them and think it would be great, the accessibility again, for people to get there, is unparalleled. But two, this rhetoric of the Sixers owning the WNBA team, I would just tell you that’s not where the league wants this to go. They want it to be another person where it’s what they’re getting up and thinking about every day. Not that it’s a (secondary thing).”

…

“Comcast can buy the WNBA, but again, it’s kind of a moot point, because if you talk to Kathy (Engelbert), the commissioner, they’ve kind of signaled that the next round of expansion, and no one’s quoted this, looks like Toronto and Oakland. I think that will be 2024 or 2025. You’re talking ’27, ’28, or ’29 until they’re even going to do the next round of expansion teams. So I’m not sure why we’re getting all stirred up. But on a personal level, I’ve committed that I’d throw some money into the deal because I think it’s important. I have two daughters and love women’s sport so it’s important to me. And Josh and David want to be supportive also. But to your point, the league wants this to be driven by an entrepreneur who is going to wake up every day only thinking about that business.”

Two months ago, Comcast-Spectacor CEO and Chairman Dan Hilferty said this in our sit-down interview:

“…I mentioned that we get about 98% of the acts we want. If there were more out there, we’d get them. You take a place like Houston. Single arena, and they’re about to overcome Chicago as the third largest metropolitan area in the country. They get roughly 60 acts. We’re below that, but not far below that. Don’t you think if there were more acts out there, they would get them? So let’s talk about how it will impact 76 Place. We hope the Sixers make the playoffs every year and make great runs. Let’s say they play 50 games a year. And let’s say, you hear rumors on the street, and I’m hoping we get a WNBA team, I’m hoping we get several women’s professional franchises right here…

CB: Does Comcast have a stance on WNBA ownership?

Hilferty: We love it. We’d love to do it. We’d love to figure out how to be part of it, and that will continue. But it’s owned by the NBA, so obviously the Sixers should have first right. But let’s say a WNBA team comes here in time for when they’d like to move into that new arena. Let’s give it an additional 30 games. You’re up to 80. And let’s say that if our number is similar to Houston, and they came and took every single one of our acts, that still means well over 200 nights a year, that place would be quiet.”

So Comcast says that the Sixers should have the right of first refusal to bring a WNBA team to Philadelphia. The Sixers say they’d welcome the WNBA in their Center City arena, but claim that the league prefers independent owners who are not NBA-involved.


That puts us in an interesting predicament, a game of WNBA chicken, perhaps. There’s an opportunity here, it’s just a question of who wants to take it, and whether or not it’s worth it. Explained in another way, you can put the ball in someone’s court, but they may not want the ball.

Since the Adelman interview, the WNBA did indeed add Oakland and Toronto, a pair of expansion teams who will begin play in 2025 and 2026, respectively. The Oakland team will be owned by the Golden State Warriors and Toronto team by a group called Kilmer Sports Inc., run by a guy named Larry Tanenbaum. Tanenbaum is the chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, MLSE, which owns the Raptors and a slew of other Canadian franchises. CBC reported that MLSE was not interested in pursuing a WNBA team, so Tanenbaum went through Kilmer instead to complete the deal.

There are connections to NBA ownership with the two new expansion teams, though the Toronto one is more of an independent venture despite Tanenbaum’s MLSE status. Currently, 5 of the 12 WNBA teams share ownership with an NBA franchise and this would make it 6 of 14, or maybe 6.5 if you wanna put an asterisk on Kilmer and MLSE. Back when the league was founded in 1996, all eight teams shared ownership with NBA franchises, which then changed in 2002 when the NBA allowed outside groups to invest in the women’s game.

But more importantly, there’s the uber-important question of whether or not prospective Philadelphia WNBA owners are going to break even, let alone make money. The WNBA remains unprofitable, though in the world of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese and A’Ja Wilson, maybe that changes at some point in the future. Additionally, is there enough local interest to justify the risky investment? Do people here care? We talk about WNBA as a perfect fit for 76Place, the idea that you’d pair women’s and men’s basketball together in the same building and get an extra 25 or so event nights each year, but are people coming to watch those games and are you making any money off them? For the Sixers, WNBA expansion makes sense as a way to pitch the project, answer some questions about empty arena nights, and gain the favor of the “women’s sport deserves more investment” crowd. But from a business perspective, it’s a challenge.

It’s the same question for Comcast. If you lose the Sixers, you’ve got the Flyers and Wings in the winter, Disney on Ice, Roger Waters for the 70th time in a row, and then WNBA in the summer in South Philly. Is that a viable solution for them? Does it fit their sports complex redevelopment plan? Nobody is going to sit here and lie to you and say that Comcast can just replace the Sixers with WNBA expansion and continue on like nothing happened. That goes for a Comcast-owned women’s team or independent ownership paying them rent.

No clue what happens, but it’s interesting, is it not?