AUSTIN (KXAN) — Could the WNBA be coming to Austin? It will if former NCAA champ and Texas Longhorn standout Fran Harris has her way.
Harris is hoping to bring the 16th WNBA franchise to Texas’ capital city. She has spent the last year raising capital and working on Austin’s submission packet.
“That could be dope,” one sports fan told KXAN downtown on Tuesday. “If one came to Austin I’d probably root for them.”
“Everybody projects a photo finish – but I think Austin checks every single box – location, corporate partners, beautiful arena, and best of all, a community that has demonstrated support for women’s basketball,” Harris said.
“Just the idea that we could also have a WNBA team in town would be incredibly cool,” another Austin resident said.
Harris played on the WNBA’s first championship team, the Houston Comets, in 1997.
Portland was named the 15th expansion team in the spring. It paid $125 million to bring it to their city. It’s estimated it could cost anywhere from $150 million to $200 million to bring a team to Austin.
WNBA’s commissioner Cathy Engelbert said she is “pretty confident” the sport will expand to 16 teams by 2028, according to ESPN. However, Austin is not the only city on the list.
Cities like Philadelphia, Toronto, Portland, Nashville, Denver and south Florida have also shown interest. In all, there are more than 12 cities, according to Engelbert.
“Austin feels like that best-kept secret about women’s basketball and I want us to be known all over the world,” Harris said.
Interest and revenue connected with women’s sports reached historic levels in 2024. Forbes projected the value of women’s sports is expected to surpass $1 billion this year.
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