A group has emerged aiming to bring a WNBA expansion team to Vancouver, with the group’s leader noting the aim is to have a formal bid put in within the “next two, three years.” The committee leader, Bill Bakk, joining “Global News Morning,” said it is a “four-to-five-year out kind of picture,” noting there is plenty “of work to do.” Bakk: “We’re basically developing a pro forma bid with all the features you’d expect to win.” Bakk noted there is “no formal bid process established yet,” but the group is putting together “what it should look like.” Former Canadian women’s national basketball player Jodi Evans, a member of the group, cited the need for a “high performance” practice facility that drives up the cost of a franchise. Evans said the group likely needs around CA$500M (US$359M) from a “big investment to make this happen.” Former Univ. of British Columbia’s men’s basketball coach Kevin Hanson, another member of the group, maintained women’s sports “has really taken off in Vancouver” and praised the arrival of the Toronto Tempo. Bakk noted the WNBA is “aware” of Vancouver’s interest in an expansion team and the group has “been in touch” with advisors. He mentioned investors they talk to “are very captured by what this is all about.” He added the possible team will “likely” play games at Rogers Arena, but the group will “investigate all the possibilities” (“Global News Morning,” Global News, 9/14).
