The Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes is among those trying to attract the 2028 expansion WNBA team to Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the ownership group of the Kansas City Current, which plays in the National Women's Soccer League, were there Meeting with WNBA Officials a It's about bringing an expansion franchise to the city.

Mahomes confirmed the talks Thursday and said it was a “no-brainer” to try to bring women's basketball to Kansas City.

“Of course we want to establish basketball in general in Kansas City,” said Mahomes, who also owns shares in the Royals and MLS club Sporting Kansas City. “You talk about University of Kansas basketball, the Chiefs, whatever it is, the city will come to the stadium. It’s cool that we were able to bring the women’s soccer team here and you can see the support they have.”

The Current, which is playing at $117 million Purpose-built stadium nearby in downtown Kansas City, their home games are regularly sold out this season. They begin the NWSL playoffs on November 9th as the No. 4 seed, having lost just three times all season.

Mahomes and his wife Brittany – a former soccer player – often attend Current and Sporting KC games. The Chiefs quarterback was in a suite at Kauffman Stadium a few weeks ago to watch the Royals play the Guardians in the playoffs.

“I think more than anything, I know how much sports have given 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 venture into life after football and chasing kids around, I still want to be a part of it. Hopefully we can bring 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 that dream is.”

The WNBA will expand by three teams over the next two seasons, with Golden State, Portland and Toronto bringing the total number of franchises to 15. And while league commissioner Cathy Engelbert has said the WNBA would like to add a 16th team by the 2028 season, Kansas City is expected to have competition from St. Louis, Philadelphia and several other cities.

The league was boosted by young stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. recorded the best number of visitors Numbers in 22 last season. Game 5 of this The championship reached its climax 3.3 million television viewers, the most-watched WNBA game in a quarter century, and 22 telecasts during the 40-game regular season surpassed at least one million viewers on various networks.

Kansas City has long had the infrastructure for a professional basketball franchise and built the T-Mobile Center in 2007 in hopes of attracting an NBA or NHL club to the city. Those teams never materialized, but the building remains busy with concerts and other sporting events, including the Big 12 men's and women's basketball tournaments each March.

Mahomes believes a WNBA franchise would be a perfect fit for the downtown arena.

“They want to expand. Like any other business, you have to choose how to do it,” he said. “You've obviously seen that the WNBA has grown over the last few years. We believe Kansas City is a great place to continue this growth, but we need to fight with other cities to show them this is the right place.”

___

AP NFL: and AP WNBA: