expansion Page 2 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

PWHL selects Seattle for second expansion team
The Professional Women's Hockey League announced Seattle as its second expansion city on Wednesday.,The PWHL expanded its foothold in the Pacific Northwest after picking Vancouver to join the circuit last week.,They will join current league members Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa and T...

PWHL confirms Vancouver as first expansion team
The Professional Women's Hockey League officially announced Wednesday that Vancouver will join as the league's seventh franchise, and that the expansion club will debut in the 2025-26 season.,Vancouver's primary color will be "pacific blue," with its secondary color being cream. Details about an exp...

Expansion Portland franchise breaks ground on training facility
While it remains without a team name, the expansion Portland WNBA franchise broke ground Tuesday on a new training facility just west of the city.,Hillsboro will be home to the $150 million project, which will serve both the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League and the to-be-named W...

Report: PWHL to add Vancouver as first expansion club
The Professional Women's Hockey League is set to add an expansion club in the 2025-26 season, with all signs indicating that team will land in Vancouver, The Athletic reported Friday.,A news conference is scheduled for Thursday of next week, with organizers teasing "a historic announcement in Britis...

CONCACAF president opposes World Cup expansion
CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani voiced his opposition to the recent proposal to expand the 2030 FIFA World Cup to 64 teams.,The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the first with 48 teams, up from 32 at Qatar in 2022.,Montagliani said increasing the size of the field...

Report: Eminem joins potential WNBA ownership group in Detroit
Count rapper Eminem as part of a group with deep Detroit ties attempting to bring a WNBA franchise back to the city.,Sportico reported Wednesday that Eminem, raised in Detroit, is joining local sports team owners, athletes and business leaders in the bid for a WNBA expansion team.,The WNBA could sel...

NCAA Tournament expansion unlikely through 2026
Plans to expand the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournament fields appear to be in a timeout.,There had been talk of increasing from 68 teams to 72 or 76 teams in 2026 but there likely is not enough time left to finalize the details, NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt told CBS ...

Star-laden Nashville group submits bid for expansion franchise
A group including Candace Parker, Peyton Manning, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill submitted a bid on Thursday to bring a WNBA expansion franchise to Nashville.,Former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, who is slated to become the majority owner of the NHL's Nashville Predators in July, and his wife Crissy would ...

Denver to join NWSL as 16th franchise in 2026
The National Women's Soccer League officially announced on Thursday that Denver will join the league as its 16th team in 2026.,"As the NWSL continues its rapid growth, we knew it was critical to launch our 16th team in a city with a passionate sports culture and vibrant fan base -- and Denver is the...

Commish: NWSL 'not done' growing as Denver reportedly set to join
Ahead of the expected announcement of Denver becoming the 16th team in the National Women's Soccer League, commissioner Jessica Berman maintained that the circuit will continue to grow.,Berman said Thursday, according to ESPN, "Obviously, there's been a lot of rumors circulating, but we will have an...

Denver lands 16th NWSL franchise at record $110M fee
Denver has been awarded the 16th franchise in the National Women's Soccer League for a record $110 million fee, Sportico reported Thursday.,Not only is that expansion fee more than double the previous NWSL record, it would also be the largest ever paid for a U.S. women's professional sports team.,Th...

Report: NWSL, Denver group enter exclusive franchise negotiations
A group representing the city of Denver and the NWSL entered negotiations geared toward being awarded an expansion franchise, Sportico reported Monday.,Denver reportedly is the favorite to land a team ahead of Cleveland and Cincinnati.,The NWSL consisted of 14 teams in the just-completed 2024 season...

'Original Sun' Dick Van Arsdale dies at 81
Dick Van Arsdale, the first player added to the roster of the expansion Phoenix Suns in 1968, died at age 81.,No cause of death was revealed for Van Arsdale, known as the "Original Sun.",Later, his identical twin brother, Tom, played with him on the Suns in the 1976-77 season -- the brothers' final ...

Hamady Diop among San Diego FC's expansion draft picks
San Diego FC selected five players, including 2023 MLS SuperDraft No. 1 overall pick Hamady Diop, in the 2024 MLS Expansion Draft on Wednesday as it prepares for its inaugural 2025 season.,Three of the selections -- Diop, Heine Gikling Bruseth and Jasper Loffelsend -- will remain with San Diego, whi...

Bigger Dance? NCAA Tournament expansion gaining support
President Charlie Baker set a timeline of early April to determine whether the NCAA Tournament would expand in 2026. ,Speaking at a sports business conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Baker described growing support to increase the number of teams in the NCAA Tournament from 68 by up to eight. ,He...

Toronto's WNBA franchise unveils name, logo
Welcome to the WNBA, Toronto Tempo.,The league's newest team, to begin play in 2026, revealed its name and logo on Thursday, with the franchise pointing to the city of Toronto for provided the inspiration.,"Tempo is pace. It's speed. It's a heartbeat. And it's what you feel when you step into the st...

NWSL expansion finalists: Cincinnati, Cleveland and Denver
The three finalists to become the NWSL's 16th franchise are Cincinnati, Cleveland and Denver, commissioner Jessica Berman announced Friday.,The winner will begin play in 2026 along with the expansion team from Boston.,The bidding process is in the final stages and a decision is expected in the comin...

Patrick Mahomes eyeing WNBA franchise for Kansas City
Patrick Mahomes said he wants to see a WNBA expansion team come to Kansas City.,Unlike the average professional athlete, Mahomes may have the pull, and the money, to make it happen.,"We want to get basketball to Kansas City in general and then WNBA," Mahomes said Thursday. "The success that they've ...

PWHL seeks to expand from six to eight teams in 2025
The Professional Women's Hockey League is eyeing an expansion before the 2025-26 season.,PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer said at the ESPNW Summit on Tuesday that the league plans to add up to two new franchises next year, which would grow the league from six to eight tea...

WNBA Finals expanding to best-of-seven in 2025
The WNBA Finals will expand to a best-of-seven series for the first time in 2025, the league announced Thursday ahead of Game 1 of the 2024 championship series between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx.,The league has never seen a best-of-seven playoff series, but the 2025 Finals will mark...