![]() ![]() "It's built for you." Landing a key investor over breakfastīrummel, Gilder, and Trudeau weren't targeting typical sports investors to finance their new project - only a couple of their investors have stakes in other professional teams, Brummel said. "You own it, 24/7, it's yours and yours alone," Brummel said of the players. The center will be located downtown near the Storm's arena and players' apartments. The Storm's new home, set to open in March 2024, will house players, marketers, ownership, caterers, championship trophies, and art installations representing the team's legacy - primarily created by Black artists - all under one roof.īrummel said the players have had a say in what furniture and tech goes into the building. The team's championship trophies aren't housed in a display case but rather sit in a store room. The players clean out their lockers when they head home for the day. The Seattle Storm currently practice in the basement gym of Seattle Pacific University, where Brummel said they get four hours of access per day. The Las Vegas Aces opened a dedicated space earlier this year, but several teams still practice on college campuses or otherwise share facilities. The kind of facility the Storm is building is typical for major men's professional sports leagues, but it's still new for the WNBA. "It's not, 'The billionaire throws a bunch of money and buys it for $6 billion and then spends a hundred million on this, that, and the other.' This is like, 'You buy it, you build it, you build it again, you keep building it.' That's just what we do." A major step forward for 'The W' "It's not your average sports story," Brummel said. ![]() The next highest-valued team, the Chicago Sky, is worth $85 million. The team was valued in the sale at $151 million, the highest valuation in the league. The ownership group closed in February 2023 a $21 million raise, Brummel said, which will go toward the new $64 million facility and working capital. The trio hand-picked 12 investor groups - mostly made up of women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ - who had previously expressed interest and pitched them on buying small portions of the team. "We did a quick back of the napkin calculation, and it's like, 'Well, we're not going to be able to pay for this,'" Brummel said. They landed on a dedicated practice facility - not a temporary fix or a college gym - something no WNBA team had at the time. This story is available exclusively to InsiderĪnd start reading now. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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