The Women’s National Basketball Association has taken the continent by storm as part of a larger boom in women’s professional sports globally. Now a group is in the process of forming a bid committee with the aim of a bringing a WNBA franchise to Vancouver. “We just think the time is right,” bid committee member Jodi Evans told CTV News on Monday. “People are interested. These young girls want to look up and see girls playing professional sports. Not just boys. The opportunity is there – and the demand is there.” Bill Bakk is the leader of the committee and is joined by Evans, a former Olympic basketball player, and Kevin Hanson. Hanson is a familiar face in Vancouver basketball circles having coached the University of British Columbia men’s basketball team for 25 years. “It’s moving along and the feedback we are getting is all positive,” Hanson said in an interview. “People are really excited about it. I’m excited. We’re excited about it. And I think Vancouver is ready to have women’s basketball here.” Hanson acknowledges it won’t be easy and there are significant hurdles. The largest obstacle is money, with the franchise fee for a WNBA team growing as the league enjoys increasing levels of success, and a queue already forming for expansion teams. “The franchise fee the last couple of years for the newest teams coming in has been about US$250 million,” Hanson said. “With the price of things going on, who knows where it’s going to be in two to three years…but we’re ballparking it, you know, somewhere around the C$500 million range.” Vancouver sports fans have shown they’re willing to back women’s pro sports – with the Vancouver Goldeneyes hockey team averaging over 11,000 fans per game in the team’s first season at Pacific Coliseum. And on the field, Vancouver Rise FC have regularly attracted 3,000 spectators per match at Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium. “Right now is such a huge time for women’s sports and I think people are very quickly realizing that it’s such a good business to invest in,” said Chelsea Leite, TSN’s Toronto Tempo beat reporter. “Just because of not only the excitement, but the potential return on investment…when you think how quickly everything is growing.” The bid committee group acknowledges the process could take years, but believes it can convince potential investors that a franchise in Vancouver is worth a shot.
