Prior to last week's All-Star Game, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said that expanding the league remains a priority.
"This would be something I would be talking with you more seriously about if it wasn't for the pandemic," Engelbert said to the media.
"We are evaluating it constantly. I would say about this time next year we will be talking a lot more seriously about what that path looks like, how many teams, where, what cities."
Right now, there are 12 WNBA teams — six in the Eastern Conference, six in the Western Conference — each of which are based in the United States.
According to Abigail Gentrup of Front Office Sports, Charlotte, Houston and Philadelphia have "been identified" as potential expansion cities in the United States. Additionally, Toronto has reportedly been identified as a potential expansion city.
The WNBA previously had teams in Charlotte, Cleveland, Houston, Miami, Portland and Sacramento, but each of those teams folded.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert reiterated last week that expanding the league is a priority.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) July 19, 2021
Charlotte, Houston, Philadelphia, and Toronto have been identified as potential expansion cities 🏀https://t.co/j8Bic1idMD
WNBA viewership is up considerably in both the United States and Canada this season, per SportsPro. The 2021 WNBA All-Star Game broadcast reach alone was up 261 percent in Canada compared to the 2019 WNBA All-Star Game.
In total, the 2021 WNBA All-Star Game reached nearly half a million Canadians across Sportsnet and TSN combined.
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