The WNBA has enlisted Allen & Company to facilitate the expansion process for a 16th franchise, according to three people familiar with the details, who were granted anonymity because the matter is private. On Wednesday, the WNBA unveiled Portland as its 15th team with the Bhathal family as owners.
Allen & Company, a New York-based boutique investment bank, served as the league’s financial advisor when it raised $75 million in strategic capital in 2022. The firm, led by Steve Greenberg, Terry Morris and Mike Melnitzky, represented the buyer (Buffalo Bills) or seller (Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos) in the three NFL transactions before the Washington Commanders’ deal last year.
In the NBA, Allen & Co. represented the sellers of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2014 and the Brooklyn Nets in 2018. Last month, the bank brokered Willow Bay and Bob Iger’s purchase of a controlling stake in the NWSL’s Angel City FC at a $250 million valuation.
Representatives for Allen & Co. and the NBA did not respond to requests for comment.
The WNBA’s 2022 capital raise went toward building the league’s infrastructure, positioning it to take advantage of the attention this year’s arrival of Caitlin Clark and a loaded rookie class would bring. The WNBA beefed up its marketing department from one person to 25 and added its first CMO. The league also hired a chief growth officer for the first time and bolstered the ranks of its engineers and social media employees.
The WNBA has set records by almost every metric this season, including attendance, TV ratings and revenue. Last week, the Las Vegas Aces announced a sellout for their 2025 season tickets, while the expansion Golden State Valkyries revealed season ticket deposits of 17,000 ahead for their inaugural season in 2025.
Portland is the third WNBA expansion franchise added in the past 11 months, along with Golden State and Toronto. The last team added before that was the Atlanta Dream in 2008. Golden State and Toronto both paid $50 million expansion fees, with the latter committing $115 million in total, including a new practice facility and other costs. Portland’s total commitment is $125 million.
The recent expansion additions were done without a bank, and there has been some grumbling in the marketplace that the process has been bumpy and less than transparent. The flip side is the WNBA has long coveted teams in Toronto and the Bay Area, and the decision to partner with a pair of powerful NBA owners, Joe Lacob and Larry Tannenbaum, was a layup. Portland had also been at the front of the line for a team.
The 16th franchise will likely be a more complicated process with multiple cities vying for what is the last WNBA expansion franchise for the immediate future. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said she wants to have 16 teams by 2028. The NWSL has used Inner Circle Sports for its recent expansion process.
The next franchise will largely know the terms of its national TV revenue with most of the WNBA deal completed at a 500% annual increase over the previous one. Denver, Miami, Nashville and Philadelphia have all been floated as possible spots for the 16th slot. The price tag is expected to be a significant step-up from the recent expansion fees.
In May, Sportico valued the average WNBA team at $96 million.