KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Hopes of WNBA expansion coming to Kansas City were put on hold this week as the league announced plans to add teams in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia. But that isn’t stopping KC Current ownership.
In a statement shared Thursday by the club, owners Angie and Chris Long expressed plans for his group to eventually bring women’s professional basketball to the city of fountains, as the WNBA’s popularity grows.
“While we are, of course, disappointed that Kansas City was not selected at this time, our belief in this city and its passion for basketball and women’s sports has never been stronger,” the Longs said. “We have an incredibly engaged fanbase, a thriving sports culture, and a proven commitment to elevating women’s sports.”
Long’s message was shared as the Current, a club he owns alongside his wife, Angie, as well as Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, sits in first place in the NWSL at the halfway point of the season.
“Kansas City has so much to offer the WNBA — a proven blueprint in one of the most valuable and transformative franchises globally in women’s sports, the Kansas City Current,” Long said, “a top-tier venue in T-Mobile Center where a women’s team would be the anchor tenant in the heart of downtown, and a commitment from us to build another purpose-built world-class training facility for a WNBA team in KC.”
Current ownership played a role in building CPKC Stadium, a revolutionary venue for women’s soccer. Thursday, Long’s comments were the first publicly shared plans for a commitment from the group to build a training facility specifically for use by a future WNBA team.
Long continued: “We believe we can help grow the game and strengthen the league, and we plan to keep showing up and working toward that vision. We’ve seen firsthand how a city can unite behind its athletes. We’re ready to contribute, to support, and to help the WNBA thrive — right here in the heart of America. We have the infrastructure, the fans, the momentum — and we have the patience and persistence to see this through. Kansas City is a sports town, and we will continue to do everything in our power to bring the WNBA here.”
The statement is the latest from a member of the Current’s ownership expressing a desire to bring the WNBA to Kansas City. In October, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes shared similar comments, calling it a “no-brainer” to bring women’s hoops to Kansas City.
“Obviously, we want to get basketball in Kansas City in general,” said Mahomes, who also has ownership stakes in the Royals and MLS club Sporting Kansas City. “You talk about the University of Kansas basketball, the Chiefs, whatever it is, the city is going to come out to the stadium. It’s cool we were able to get the women’s soccer team here and you see the support they have.
“Hopefully, we can get this WNBA team here, for life after football, so I can make an impact in sports, and show my daughter that you can chase your dream, whatever dream that is.”
The comments from Long come after Indiana Fever guard and Columbia, Missouri, native Sophie Cunningham said she would have preferred for Kansas City to be chosen over cities like Cleveland and Detroit, citing the success of the Current in the Kansas City market as evidence for positive women’s sports in the area.
“Kansas City is an amazing opportunity,” Cunningham said, “there’s a huge arena downtown that no one is using and the women’s soccer league is showing that people draw… but at the end of the day you also want to make sure you’re not expanding our league too fast.”
As it currently stands, every WNBA team aside from the Connecticut Sun, Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm are located in a city that also features an NBA team.
That includes previously announced expansion teams in Toronto and Portland, as well as this week’s expansion teams in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia
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