Golden State Valkyries Set Season Ticket Mark Without Playing WNBA Game
The Golden State Valkyries are a hot ticket already. The expansion franchise announced it has received more than 15,000 season ticket deposits for 2025, which will be the team's first year in the WNBA. That sales mark sets a record for women's sports heading into an inaugural campaign. The previous high was held by the San Diego Wave in 2021, with 5,000 deposits sold.
15,000 season ticket deposits ☑️
— Golden State Valkyries (@wnbagoldenstate) July 25, 2024
Thank you, amazing Valkyries community! pic.twitter.com/277CplF8e4
The Valkyries will play in the Chase Center, the same arena that houses the Warriors. The building has a capacity of 18,000, far exceeding the number of many WNBA home venues. And the buzz to be in the house has obviously already begun in the Bay Area.
Perhaps the strongest sign of the WNBA's growth is that the Golden State Valkyries — an expansion team that hasn't played a single game yet — just passed 15,000 season ticket deposits, the most ever for a U.S. women's sports team before its first season. pic.twitter.com/PW9NR69YeZ
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) July 25, 2024
The Valkyries are the 13th franchise in the league and the first expansion team since the Atlanta Dream in 2008. They will hold an expansion draft in December choosing from a pool of athletes to help build up a roster. That before participating in the WNBA Draft itself in April of 2025, with a chance to land a true cornerstone to build around.
A look at the line to buy merch for the WNBA’s new expansion team, the Golden State Valkyries:pic.twitter.com/204K4Pai9F
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 19, 2024
The anticipation around the new team in Golden State is just the latest in a surging wave around the W and women's basketball in general. The league just saw All-Star ratings triple the previous record and announced a new $2.2 billion media rights deal. Not to mention merchandise sales have also gone through the roof. The Valkyries are set to join what has become a movement, and the new franchise in Golden State has had no problem moving tickets.
ROBIN LUNDBERG
Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his burgeoning YouTube show. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak on SI!