Seattle Storm most valuable WNBA team after selling minority stakes

The Seattle Storm sold minority stakes earlier this week at a WNBA-record value of $151 million, according to the franchise’s communications team.

The purchase of the minority stakes is estimated to be approximately 15 times more than previous sales prices for WNBA teams, per the Wall Street Journal.

The minority stakes were sold to 15 investors in an effort to fulfill its plans to build a 50,000-square-foot practice facility. The complex is estimated to cost $64 million with a design that includes two side-by-side basketball courts, the “Storm Team Center” with locker rooms, a lounge, a nutrition center for the players, and strength and conditioning training spaces.

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Construction is expected to begin this spring and is expected to be completed in time for training camp ahead of the 2024 WNBA season.

“We are excited to create a state-of-the-art training facility for our team and for our city. The Storm facility will provide our athletes with a dedicated space to support them holistically, from training to health and wellness,” said Lisa Brummel, co-owner of Force 10 Hoops LLC, in a prepared statement. “This facility reflects our franchise legacy, our athletes’ success, and aims to promote and grow the women’s game and expand youth access to play.” 

Force 10 Hoops LLC is still the controlling majority owner of the team.

For reference, in 2021, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis bought the Las Vegas Aces for approximately $2 million. The Aces went on to win the championship last year under rookie head coach Becky Hammon.

This new valuation for the Seattle Storm, who fell to the Aces in four games in the second round of the playoffs last year, followed a bittersweet campaign defined by future Hall of Famer Sue Bird’s intent to retire at the season’s conclusion.

Breanna Stewart was awarded her fourth All-WNBA First Team nod of her career before departing for the New York Liberty in the offseason.

The WNBA as a whole has recently experienced significant financial growth over the past year. The league completed its first-ever capital raise last summer. After bringing on investors — including former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, and Laurene Powell Jobs — the valuation of the WNBA and its 12 teams reached a total of $1 billion.

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“We are incredibly fortunate to be able to capitalize on the current momentum around women’s sports and are grateful to the investors who have chosen to support the WNBA in an unprecedented way,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a WNBA press release. “Our strategy is to deploy this capital to continue to drive the league’s brand as a bold, progressive entertainment and media property that embodies diversity, promotes equity, advocates for social justice, and stands for the power of women.”

The WNBA finished the 2022 regular season as its most-watched regular season in 14 years, with viewership up 16% over the year before.

Despite the league’s recent success, Engelbert told The Athletic the WNBA is not expected to add any expansion teams, despite Engelbert believing just a few months prior that it was possible to potentially add two new franchises before the 2024 season.