SAN FRANCISCO (AP) 鈥� WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will never forget the anticipation and energy she felt from an adoring crowd surrounding the Golden State Valkyries’ first home game last year as a new franchise.
鈥淚t was the Valkyries’ first game ever, and somehow it felt like this arena was filled with lifelong fans who had been following this league for 30 years,鈥� Engelbert recalled. 鈥淚t was the true sense that the team already belonged here.鈥�
Now, Engelbert is bringing the WNBA All-Star Game to the Bay Area and 鈥淏allhalla鈥� next summer so all of women’s basketball can experience what she did that night in May 2025.
Engelbert made the announcement Tuesday that the WNBA showcase game will be held July 31, 2027, at Chase Center after a weekend of All-Star activities around the San Francisco region.
鈥淚 remember looking around that night and thinking to myself, 鈥楾his place is going to be special,’ and in less than two seasons the Valkyries family has proven just how special it can be,” Engelbert said. 鈥淭he Bay Area community hasn’t simply welcomed the Valkyries, this community has embraced the Valks as their team.鈥�
And Golden State has waited for this moment all along. For Warriors and Valkyries owner Joe Lacob, this is decades in the making since he first began supporting women’s basketball.
Lacob has loved women鈥檚 basketball for decades and became one of the original investors in the former American Basketball League with the San Jose Lasers. He bought the Warriors in 2010 then .
鈥淚t is actually a great honor to be hosting the All-Star Game. All I will say for all of us at Golden State but me in particular, it is a full-circle moment, well it will be full circle when we win the championship,鈥� Lacob said.
At the All-Star Game in Chicago last month, players’ union president Nneka Ogwumike, who played in college at Stanford, said many players felt that Golden State would be a great host for next year’s mid-summer exhibition game.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr and guard Gary Payton II were among those in the audience for the announcement at Chase Center, where a cable car was set up inside the arena for the occasion.
鈥淲hen you walk into this building for a Valkyries game, it is unlike any experience,鈥� San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said.
Hosting world-class events was always in the plans since long before Chase Center opened in 2019. The Valkyries have sold out all of their home games since the franchise’s inception last year 鈥� and the team became the first expansion organization to make the playoffs in its inaugural year. The Valkyries clinched a playoff berth for this year on Monday night with .
The NBA All-Star Game was played at Chase Center last year.
鈥淗osting AT&T WNBA All-Star in only our third season is an incredible honor and a reflection of everything this fanbase, this region, and this organization have built together,鈥� Valkyries President Jess Smith said. 鈥淔rom day one, the Bay Area has shown up for this team in a way that鈥檚 redefined what鈥檚 possible in women鈥檚 basketball, and we can鈥檛 wait to put that same energy on display for the entire league next summer.鈥�
Last week, the 2028 All-Star Game would return to nearby Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.
The Super Bowl was played in February at Levi’s Stadium, which then hosted the World Cup this summer.
Smith can’t wait for her team to add to that list 鈥� saying such an opportunity will never be taken for granted 鈥渢o have a chance to be a part of the WNBA’s growth.鈥�
鈥淏ut it’s part of what we knew was possible from Day 1 with this organization,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have embodied the bay’s energy in every decision that we’ve made, along with the community and our fans and our players, and one of the things we keep in mind is this that we understand this is where the world looks to see what comes next, whether it’s technology, innovation or how we treat people, how we connect what it means to gather, and we’re doing that at Ballhalla. The opportunity to do that in honor of all those stakeholders here, on behalf of this league with the best players in the world, is immense.鈥�
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