LAS VEGAS — Sitting on the podium at the Aria Hotel, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert spoke about the future to a contingent of press in person and on Zoom.
It was simple to mention, but significant given the circumstances.
In a wide media broadcast ahead of Wednesday’s WNBA All-Star Game, Engelbert addressed topics as heavy as league expansion, travel concerns and player exposure, and as light as merchandise WNBA derivatives.
Engelbert spoke for nearly 40 minutes and began to mention the growing momentum the league has seen over a two-year period.
That includes a season impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which shifted league-wide plans and placed the league in Florida for the entire 2020 season.
“We’re looking to the future,” she said.
Where is the league?
When the WNBA moved to IMG Academy in Florida for its own bubble last year, it forced the league to change its approach.
The league took on part of the expenses of the “Wubble” and had to compensate for the lack of income without fans. It’s still a pain the league feels going into the All-Star and Olympic break in 2021.
“Last year we reversed the business model,” Engelbert said. “We’re still recovering from this.”
Now that all markets have fans in attendance, that pain is starting to ease. However, teams must still comply with local health department guidelines.
Engelbert said she is proud of the current state of player safety, especially with 99 percent of WNBA players vaccinated against the coronavirus. Teams have been preparing to hit that pace over the past month and reopen for more fans.
The commissioner said more transformations are yet to come as the end of the pandemic continues.
“The fan experience is better the closer they get to the field,” Engelbert said.
Fix league issues
Two years ago, during the 2019 All-Star Game, Engelbert announced how Team USA and the WNBA expanded training and paid players so that WNBA players could train with the national team at instead of making them play abroad and risk injury.
Today, the league is still looking to address the issue of travel, which is one of the biggest issues facing the league. Players are facing delays in their commercial flights to different markets, as opposed to their charter flights.
Engelbert said she understands how difficult traveling can be, but she reassured that the league understands the issues.
“Summer travel is very, very difficult,” Engelbert said. “We monitor every flight of every team.”
Engelbert said there were discussions in 2019 and 2020 with stakeholders and union representatives about the next step forward under the current collective bargaining agreement regarding travel to where the league is located.
This is something the league always monitors, and it’s why the league approved charter travel during the playoffs in order to put the best possible product on the field.
“I wish we had a business model that supports what I know we all want here,” Engelbert said. “We don’t have that today.”
Engelbert also touched on the topic of expansion, which she said is something the league constantly thinks about.
With the addition of more international players to the league and a more exciting free agency period, that still doesn’t leave much room for talented rookie players to earn a spot on a WNBA roster.
This conversation has been moved for an entire year.
“This is something I would talk about more seriously with you if not for the pandemic,” Engelbert said. “Next year, this time, we will be talking much more seriously about what that path will look like.”
The league still needs to conduct various evaluations to focus on how many teams the league could expand to and which cities could include it.
This is something the league wants to look into, especially since it only exists in 12 markets.
“We’re starting this analysis, but we don’t have anything to commit to yet,” Engelbert said. “Next year, as we come out of free agency and the offseason, we’ll think hard about what that might look like.”
Increased exposure to the league
On Wednesday, NBA 2K announced that two-time league MVP and Chicago Sky forward Candace Parker would be the first female basketball player to appear on the cover of an NBA 2K video game.
Parker will be on the cover of the NBA 2K22 video game, which Engelbert said gave her chills when she found out.
This is also the next step in giving WNBA players more and more exposure as the league grows. This includes Chiney Ogwumike who has her own radio show, former player Renee Montgomery who owns the Atlanta Dream, and Diana Taurasi and Nneka Ogwumike who star in Space Jam 2 later this month.
“Put it all together and think about the exposure,” Engelbert said. “It gives other businesses and other media companies pause.”
The exposure will only grow as the league’s franchises, like the Seattle Storm, have modern arenas to play in, giving the league different locations to host different events.
Still, Engelbert has other areas in mind, including WNBA products.
She answered two questions regarding the lack of products available specifically for the 2021 All-Star Game, the lack of products honoring legends of the past, and the lack of products in youth sizes.
Engelbert pointed out that the WNBA ball, which she considers a symbol of the league, is available at retail at Dicks, Wilson and Wal-Mart. However, the league is still moving forward on various merchandise expansion plans.
“I know it’s not enough, but we’re still working on an overall business strategy,” she said.
Engelbert also expressed his thoughts on the recently passed name, image and likeness laws for college sports. She expressed concern that female athletes participating in NIL agreements are undervalued compared to other college sports.
The news conference and Engelbert’s remarks lead into a day of celebration of the 1996 Olympic gold medal-winning women’s basketball team, which was a precursor to the WNBA soon after, and the All-Star Game which will take place later Wednesday evening.
“We are here to celebrate the best athletes in the world,” Engelbert said. “We’re excited for this game.”
Chris Kwiecinski covers sports for The Spectrum & Daily News and USA Today. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at [email protected] or (435) 414-3261.
