Unrivaled League is Aiming for Audience Not Attendance With Own Facility
One of the most compelling aspects of the new Unrivaled League — aside from who ends up taking the final spots available on their recently expanded roster — is that because the league is brand new, they have to build this unprecedented 3x3 league from the ground up.
And Unrivaled is taking that literally with their facilities.
On Wednesday, Unrivaled announced that they were partnering with a company called Mediapro North America to build an entirely new basketball facility for their 2025 season in Miami, Florida.
We’re excited to partner with Mediapro North America to bring in a new era of women’s basketball👑 Meet us in Miami 🌴 pic.twitter.com/ntwuWJ7hrs
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) November 13, 2024
According to a November 13 article from Front Office Sports' Margaret Fleming, this new facility to be constructed from a refurbished existing space will, "house a court, training facilities, childcare spaces, and an area specifically designed for making content. The space will be close to 130,000 square feet and about seven miles from Miami International Airport."
It will also only be able to hold 850 spectators.
When discussing the strategy to use a smaller arena, the league told Fleming, "[The] decision to go with a smaller arena likely comes down to a number of factors, including scheduling conflicts with the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center. (That’s where the WNBA’s Miami Sol played for its brief existence from 2000 to 2002.)
"It also shows the league is fully banking on its media-rights deal with TNT Sports as the core of its business, rather than ticket sales."
The article later adds, "Unrivaled could potentially squeeze some ticket revenue out of the 850-person arena, though, by charging much more than the typical $10 or $15 cheapest tickets for most WNBA games."
Unrivaled won't play in the Kaseya Center or a college gym. The league is making its own facility.
— Margaret Fleming (@mgfleming12) November 13, 2024
The focus is on the players, with rooms for training, child care, and making content. Only about 850 people can fit inside, but millions can watch on TNT.https://t.co/SycIavEzWk
One other compelling part of Fleming's article is that she mentioned Unrivaled discussing going on the road for their second season in 2026. If they manage to bring Caitlin Clark on board, bringing Unrivaled to Iowa would make a lot of sense (and cents).
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.