Pittsburgh pushed for team during WNBA's latest expansion
Pittsburgh pushed for a WNBA team, but the city wasn't rewarded with one during the latest round of expansion by the women's basketball league.
Tens of thousands of dollars went to a feasibility study and research about having one in the region.
In the fall of 2023, the Sports and Exhibition Authority started considering the study. By spring of last year, it paid out $90,000. The results came back just before the end of the year, and according to the authority's executive director, Aaron Waller, there is an appetite for women's sports here.
"Some of our TV ratings in this market passed other markets of similar size," Waller said.
Its study did a web-based survey with hundreds of people taking and using some in focus groups. The sports commission also did interviews with corporations in the Pittsburgh area and learned they could support a team. An ownership group formed and worked with the WNBA during the latest round of expansion.
"They don't want to be named at this time, but we definitely had an ownership group that participated in this process," Waller said.
Some feathers in the region's cap included 2024 NCAA Tournament games, which came at the time the SEA reached out to the WNBA to review its analysis. Waller said it opened their eyes to the love of the game in the region.
"PPG Paints and Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, we showed well for that event. We probably had the most excited crowd out of that first round," Waller said.
As of right now, the feasibility study is not being released to the public. According to Waller, there is sensitive information in the study regarding Pittsburgh's other sports teams. With talks of the WNBA wanting to reach 20 teams, the SEA will continue to use this to make a bid.
"If they are not looking to expand again in the near future, then we will post those results," Waller said.
It is also reported that the Connecticut Sun's owners want to move or sell the team, so Pittsburgh is still a market the league could expand in.
