Bloomberg News: Tsais to build Liberty its own practice facility
Photo by Evan Yu/NBAE via Getty Images
In the latest incentive for WNBA free agents, Joe and Clara Wu Tsai are building a practice facility for the Liberty in Brooklyn Bloomberg News’ Jennah Haque and Vanessa Perdomo report Friday and Joe and Clara Wu Tsai are building a new practice facility for the New York Liberty.
The news was contained in a Bloomberg profile on how the Liberty has moved from a bandbox in Westchester County to Brooklyn and dramatically increased its revenue ever since the Tsais purchased the team from James Dolan in early 2019.
[W]ith booming interest in women’s basketball — partly sparked by phenom Caitlin Clark — the Liberty are well positioned to capitalize. The latest outcropping of that push to elevate the franchise is that they are building the team its own practice gym, according to people familiar with the plans. That would make the Liberty the only team with an NBA counterpart — the Tsais also own the Brooklyn Nets — to get a training facility. The Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm have their own, but are independent clubs.
NetsDaily has been told that the new facility will be built in Brooklyn. The Nets of course have had their own facility in Brooklyn, the HSS Training Center, in Sunset Park. The Liberty currently practice on the small court just off the main entrance at Barclays Center.
According to Haque and Perdomo, the practice facility news is the latest indication that the Tsais intend to keep investing in the Liberty, who currently have the W’s best record at 21-4. Just last month, the franchise was valued at $200 million in the Tsais’ sale of a 15% share of BSE Global, the Tsais’ holding company, to members of the Koch family.
The investment in creature comforts is one of several lures the husband and wife co-owners has been using to recruit some of the league’s top players.
“It’s super important for free agents and players around the league to know,” Ionescu told Bloomberg, pointing out how the Tsais attended her wedding in March as a sign of their dedication to the players. “They value us as people, and that is something that I cherish.”
Ever before the news of the facility, the Liberty has become well known for providing creature comforts equal to their Nets counterparts. Bloomberg cited amenities like housing and nutrition options as two aspects of the Libs culture.
The investment is paying off, per Haque and Perdomo.
Attendance has surged 63% this season. The franchise is on pace to increase ticket revenue by 70% with the average ticket price up by roughly a third. That’s alongside two straight years of 30% gains in corporate sponsorships. Total revenue is the highest in the league at $18 million, according to Sportico. The team declined to comment on its financial figures.
The Liberty is also the first team in the WNBA to have a premium seating waitlist.
Bloomberg also detailed the team’s attendance growth
Indeed, attendance so far this season is 12,755, up from 1,757 in 2021. The Liberty also expanded its partnership with Fanatics, Bloomberg reports, to increase merchandise offerings. Sales on game days have jumped about 150% compared to this time last year.
The team has also invested in making the arena more family friendly with its high-profile mascot, Ellie the Elephant and later this month Olympic watch parties for the six Liberty players who will play in Paris.
“We just knew that there were some very special qualities about this team,” Wu Tsai told Bloomberg, noting the value of playing home games in New York.
How the Liberty Went From Bottom Feeders to WNBA Juggernaut ($) - Jennah Haque and Vanessa Perdomo - Bloomberg
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