LAS VEGAS — Settling in at the podium at the Aria Hotel, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert spoke to an in-person and Zoom press contingent about the future.
It was simple to mention, but significant considering the circumstances.
In a wide-ranging media availability prior to Wednesday’s WNBA All-Star Game, Engelbert discussed topics as heavy as league expansion, travel issues and player exposure, and as light as WNBA merchandise.
Engelbert spoke for nearly 40 minutes, and began mentioning the growing momentum the league has had over the course of a two-year span.
This includes a season affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which displaced league-wide plans along with placing the league in Florida for the entire 2020 season.
“We’re looking to the future,” she said.
Where the league stands
When the WNBA relocated to IMG Academy in Florida for its own bubble last year, it forced the league to change its approach.
The league took on some of the expenses of the “Wubble” and had to account for the lack of revenue without any fans. That’s still a pain the league is feeling at the All-Star and Olympic break in 2021.
“Last year, we flipped the business model around,” Engelbert said. “We’re still in recovery from that.”
Now that all markets have fans in attendance, that pain is beginning to alleviate. However, teams still need to comply with directives from local health departments.
Engelbert said she’s proud of where player safety is currently, especially with 99 percent of WNBA players vaccinated against the coronavirus. Teams were preparing to reach that rate across the last month, and to reopen for more fans.
The commissioner said there’s still more transformations to come as the back end of the pandemic continues.
“The fan experience is so enhanced the closer you are to the court,” Engelbert said.
Addressing league issues
Two years ago at the 2019 All-Star Game, Engelbert announced how Team USA and the WNBA expanded player training and pay so WNBA players could train with the national team as opposed to having them play overseas and risk injury.
Present day, the league is still eying to address travel, which is one of the biggest issues the league faces. Players face delays flying to different markets commercially as opposed to flying charter.
Engelbert said she understands how difficult traveling can be, but reassured the league understands the issues.
“Summer travel is very, very tough,” Engelbert said. “We’re monitoring every flight of every team.”
Engelbert said there were discussions in 2019 and 2020 with stakeholders and union representatives about the next step forward within the current collective bargaining agreement about travel with where the league is with travel.
It’s something the league is still monitoring, and it’s why the league approved charter travel during the playoffs in order to put the best product on the court possible.
“I wish we had an economic model that supported what I know we all want here,” Engelbert said. “We don’t have that today.”
Engelbert also tackled the topic of expansion, which she said is a topic the league is thinking about consistently.
With the league adding more international players and having a more exciting free agency period it still doesn’t leave much room for talented rookie players to earn a spot on a WNBA roster.
That conversation was displaced for an entire year.
“This would be something I would be talking with you more seriously about if it wasn’t for the pandemic,” Engelbert said. “About this time next year, we’ll be talking a lot more seriously about what that path looks like.”
The league still needs to conduct different evaluations to focus in how many teams the league could expand to and which the cities that would include.
It’s something the league wants to look at, especially considering the league is only in 12 markets.
“We’re starting that analysis, but nothing yet to commit to,” Engelbert said. “Going into next year, as we come off free agency and the offseason, we’ll be seriously thinking about what that could look like.”
Expanded league exposure
On Wednesday, NBA 2K announced two-time league MVP and Chicago Sky forward Candace Parker will be the first female basketball player to be put on the cover of an NBA 2K video game.
Parker will grace the cover of the NBA 2K22 video game, which Engelbert said gave her chills when she found out.
It’s also the next step forward in giving WNBA players more and more exposure as the league grows. This includes Chiney Ogwumike getting her own radio show, former player Renee Montgomery owning the Atlanta Dream, and Diana Taurasi and Nneka Ogwumike starring in Space Jam 2 later this month.
“Put all that together and think about the exposure,” Engelbert said. “It gets other corporates and other media companies thinking.”
Exposure will only grow as league franchises, like the Seattle Storm, get modern arenas to play in, which gives the league different places to host different events.
Still, there are other areas Engelbert is thinking about, including WNBA merchandise.
She fielded two questions concerning the lack of merchandise available specifically for the 2021 All-Star Game, the lack of merchandise honoring past legends and the lack of merchandise in youth sizes.
Engelbert noted the WNBA ball, something she noted as a symbol of the league, is available for retail at Dicks, Wilson and Wal-Mart. However, the league is still progressing on different plans for expanding merchandise.
“I know it’s not good enough, but we’re still working on a holistic merchandise strategy,” she said.
Engelbert also expressed her thoughts on the recently passed Name, Image and Likeness laws for college sports. She expressed concern that women athletes participating in NIL deals will be undervalued compared to other college sports.
Engelbert’s news conference and remarks lead into a day of celebration of the 1996 Olympic Women’s Basketball Gold Medal Team, which was a precursor to the WNBA not soon after, and to the All-Star Game taking place later Wednesday evening.
“We’re here to celebrate the best athletes in the world,” Engelbert said. “We’re excited for this game.”
Chris Kwiecinski covers sports The Spectrum & Daily News and USA Today. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_, and contact him at [email protected], or (435) 414-3261.
