Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the ownership group of the Kansas City Current, a team in the National Women’s Soccer League, have been in discussions with WNBA officials about bringing a new team to Kansas City.
Mahomes confirmed these talks on Thursday, calling it a “no-brainer” to try to introduce women’s basketball to the city.
“Obviously, we want to get basketball in Kansas City in general,” said Mahomes, who also owns part of the Royals and MLS team Sporting Kansas City.
“You talk about the University of Kansas basketball, the Chiefs, whatever it is, the city is going to come out to the stadium. It’s cool we were able to get the women’s soccer team here and you see the support they have.”
The Current play in a specially built $117 million stadium near downtown Kansas City and have sold out their home games this season. They are entering the NWSL playoffs as the No. 4 seed on November 9 after losing only three times throughout the season.
Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, a former soccer player, often attend Current and Sporting KC games. Recently, Mahomes was in a suite at Kauffman Stadium to watch the Royals play the Guardians in the playoffs.
“I think more than anything, I know how much sports has given to me,” said Mahomes, whose undefeated Chiefs play Tampa Bay on Monday night. “Whenever I’m done with football — whenever that is — and I have to move into life after football, and chase kids around, I want to still be a part of it.
Hopefully, we can get this WNBA team here, for life after football, so I can make an impact in sports, and show my daughter that you can chase your dream, whatever dream that is.”
The WNBA plans to expand by three teams over the next two seasons, adding Golden State, Portland, and Toronto, which will bring the total to 15 teams. While league commissioner Cathy Engelbert has stated the WNBA hopes to add a 16th team by the 2028 season, Kansas City is likely to face competition from St. Louis, Philadelphia, and other cities.
The league has been boosted by young stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, leading to the best attendance numbers in 22 years this past season.
Game 5 of the championship attracted 3.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched WNBA game in 25 years. Additionally, 22 broadcasts during the 40-game regular season had over a million viewers on different networks.
Kansas City has had the facilities ready for a professional basketball team since the T-Mobile Center was built in 2007, aiming to attract an NBA or NHL team. While those teams never came, the arena has been busy hosting concerts and various sports events, including the Big 12 men’s and women’s basketball tournaments every March.
Mahomes thinks a WNBA team would be a great match for the downtown arena.
“They want to expand. Just like any other business, you have to pick and choose how,” he said. “Obviously, you’ve seen the last few years the WNBA has grown. We feel like Kansas City is a great place to continue that growth, but we have to battle other cities to show them that this is the right place.”
