Basketball fans are flocking to the WNBA, filling arenas and setting viewership records this year following the arrival of two of the sport’s brightest new stars, Caitlyn Clark and Angel Reese.
The 12-team league’s growing popularity is set to grow as the league expands to San Francisco in 2025, Portland, Ore., and Toronto in 2026 and another market by 2028, when the WNBA plans to have 16 teams.
Could Jacksonville be in the running to compete for these 16th walk?
According to a recent Sports Business Journal reportformer WNBA president and Jacksonville Beach resident Donna Orender wants to bring the professional women’s basketball league to Jacksonville and is part of an investment group exploring the opportunity.
“I definitely have an active interest in pursuing a team,” Orender told the national sports industry weekly. “I would love that. Knowing the markets the way I do – I’ve traveled all over the country trying to sell teams, move teams, etc. – I think Jacksonville, Fla., fits the bill too , if not better than most.”
Orender and his group have not yet submitted a bid to become an expansion franchise. And other Florida cities are also expected to compete for the franchise.
But she thinks Jacksonville — which she says was the 10th— the WNBA’s largest viewing market when she was league president from 2005 to 2010 — would make an excellent candidate.
“What do you want in a city? Obviously there are so many different variables,” she told Sports Business Journal. “You want a big ownership group, long-term committed investments. You want a fantastic arena with a great arena deal. That sets your team up for success. You want a big fan base…Jacksonville is a city that will stand up and be counted for the teams it believes in.
VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville is ‘right sized’ for WNBA franchise
And VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena would be an ideal home for a Jacksonville team, Orender said.
“It’s a major league arena, it’s the right size. You can fill it up,” she told the magazine.
With a basketball seating configuration of 14,091 seats, the arena is a tested basketball venue, having hosted the first games of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament four times, in 2006, 2010, 2015 and 2019.
For comparison, Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, home of the Indiana Fever, seats 17,274; and Paradise, Nevada’s Michelob Ultra Arena, home of the Las Vegas Aces, seats 12,000.
This year, attendance at WNBA games reached its highest level in 22 years, up nearly 50% from just a year ago. CNBC reported. And the league’s games drew an all-time high of more than 54 million unique viewers on ABC, ESPN, CBS and others, the business network reported.
Who is Donna Orender, the former WNBA executive who plans to bring an expansion franchise to Jacksonville?
Orender, a member of the 1975 Queens College basketball team, played on the inaugural women’s match never played at historic Madison Square Garden in New York on February 22, 1975, when his team filed a lawsuit against Immaculata College. She was also a founding member of the Women’s Pro Basketball League, the first for women.
After 17 years as a PGA Tour executive, Orender served six years as president of the WNBA. She is now CEO of Orender Unlimited, her Jacksonville Beach-based consulting and advisory firm.
“I think everyone understands my long-standing, innate passion for women’s basketball and, of course, the league,” Orender told Sports Business Journal. “It’s something that’s really close to my heart and so, certainly even before the Caitlin Clark era, I’ve been looking at opportunities.”
What other cities are competing for the WNBA expansion franchise team?
In addition to interest from several Florida groups, Nashville, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Austin, Kansas City, Houston, Charlotte, Denver and Cleveland are expected to compete for the WNBA expansion franchise, which could attract offers of up to 250 million dollars, the magazine reported. .
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Donna Orender explores Jacksonville WNBA expansion franchise bid
