by It’s good news that Chicago Sky is taking steps to get its own facility.
It’s also a shame.
The WNBA is now in its 27thth season – that’s over a quarter of a century – and Sky has been around for 18 of them. They won their first WNBA title two seasons ago, and their roster for the last few seasons has been a Who’s Who of the league.
However, the “team facility” is a public recreation center in the northern suburbs of Chicago, as far removed from acceptable accommodations for a professional franchise as is the downtown arena where the Sky plays its games. Take a look at professional athletes on their way to Zumba! Use the same weight machines as a WNBA All-Star!
“It’s an evolution that teams go through and the league goes through,” Sky principal owner Michael Alter told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Now is the right time.”
No, the timing was years ago, before Sky and other franchises had to be ashamed of themselves for treating their players like the professional athletes they are by WNBA owners who don’t consider women’s sports as charitable projects. Make no mistake: the Sky is finally taking steps to do what’s right for its players because the owners of the Las Vegas Aces, New York Liberty and Seattle Storm are forcing them.
Before this season, the Aces opened a 64,000-square-foot team facility in the complex they share with owner Mark Davis’ other team, the NFL Raiders. It has two training courts and a training room that includes an infrared sauna and a hydrotherapy mat, and each of the players’ lockers is equipped with a TV and a minicomputer.
The Storm is building its own facility, which is expected to open next season. Liberty renovated its dressing room after moving to the Barclays Center two seasons ago, and includes a spacious training room, a separate lounge and a “shoe wall” to display the shoes in each player’s locker.
Unsurprisingly, the Liberty and Aces were the big winners in free agency this offseason. The Aces picked up Candace Parker, who spent the last two seasons with the Sky, while the Liberty drew another Sky mainstay, Courtney Vandersloot, along with Breanna Stewart.
“I haven’t had a closet in my entire career,” Parker said in a March appearance on Draymond Green’s podcast. “I’ve been in the WNBA for 16 years and I haven’t had a locker with my name on it and I can leave my (stuff) and then come back and know my (stuff) will be there. I didn’t have that. This is mine, you walk in and this is the your own area No one else – no seniors walking around.
“I’ve never had a practice facility where I could just go for injections at night,” she added. “We always share a practice facility.”
Green looked incredulous, and why not? The “luxuries” Parker described are common across the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball. But they haven’t been in women’s sports until now because most owners have treated their franchises like a proverbial pat on the head – Oh, isn’t it great that we’re giving girls a chance to play! – and hoping players would be grateful for what little they were getting.
Fortunately, there is a new generation of owners in both the WNBA and NWSL who believe that women’s sports are worth supporting, but also recognize them for the good business opportunities they represent. There is money to be made in both the NWSL and the WNBA, a lot of money.
TV ratings for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship were crazy, while ESPN said the average viewership for the WNBA’s opening weekend was almost 200% compared to last year. The NWSL is so keen on expansion that Commissioner Jessica Berman recently said the league will add four new teams between 2024 and 2026.
As any good business owner will tell you, however, you have to spend money to make money. Do you want the biggest names to come play for you? Do you want to sell your arena every game? So you’re going to have to invest – and you better do it fast before everyone passes you by.
“For what we have here now as far as our team, culture and staff (a team facility) is separation,” Sky’s All-Star point guard/forward Kahleah Copper told the Sun-Times. “We have to keep up with the Joneses. As WNBA players, it’s important that we take care of ourselves. We get so relaxed about being content with what we have, but we must demand and want more.”
It is no longer enough to give women the opportunity to play professionally. They need to do this in a professional environment as well. If team owners can’t – or won’t – provide that, it’s time to step aside and hand your team over to someone who will.
Follow USA TODAY sports columnist Nancy Armor on Twitter @nrarmour.
