The Golden State Valkyries have been awarded the right to host the WNBA's 2027 All-Star Weekend at Chase Center, a reward for a franchise that has sold out every single home game since its inaugural season and now carries a $1 billion valuation. The announcement lands just a day after Golden State clinched its second consecutive playoff berth, beating the Dallas Wings 78-70 behind 23 points from guard Gabby Williams.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said fan response across the Bay Area has been remarkable, adding that the Valkyries brought energy and excitement to the league from the moment they were announced as an expansion team in 2023. The event will bring the league's biggest stars to the Bay Area for a two-night showcase, capped by the All-Star Game itself on the event's second night at Chase Center.
The sellout streak underpinning that decision now stands at 41 consecutive regular-season games, per The San Francisco Standard, with the Valkyries leading the WNBA in attendance at more than 18,000 fans a game. That kind of demand has fueled a financial climb that would have seemed improbable just three years ago.
From $50 Million Expansion Fee to a Billion-Dollar Franchise
Golden State co-chairman Joe Lacob paid a then-record $50 million expansion fee to acquire the Valkyries in October 2023. By May 2026, the franchise's valuation had surged to $850 million according to Sportico, or as high as $1 billion according to CNBC, a jump documented in Hoodline's earlier reporting on the team's commercial rise. The Chronicle's report on the All-Star announcement cites the $1 billion figure directly, noting the Valkyries now carry that valuation as the league prepares to bring its showcase event to the Bay.
Golden State Valkyries president Jess Smith said hosting the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game in the team's third season is an incredible honor, according to the Chronicle. Smith also said the Bay Area fanbase has redefined what is possible in women's basketball. The franchise is headed by Smith alongside owner Joe Lacob.
A Record-Setting Debut Season
The Valkyries' path to this moment began with a historic first year. In 2025, the team became the first expansion franchise in WNBA history to qualify for the postseason in its inaugural season, setting the league record for expansion victories with 23 wins, according to the WNBA. Head coach Natalie Nakase was named the 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year after receiving 53 of 72 national media votes, a distinction earned in her very first season leading the expansion squad.
That inaugural playoff run came with an ironic wrinkle. A pre-existing 2023 arena booking for the Laver Cup tennis tournament forced the Valkyries to move their first-ever home playoff game in September 2025 to the SAP Center in San Jose, sending Chase Center's court on a 49-mile trip south. Securing the 2027 All-Star Weekend for Chase Center resolves some of that lingering scheduling tension, giving the franchise a marquee event on its own home floor.
Bay Area's Stacked Run of Marquee Sporting Events
The Valkyries have also built out significant infrastructure to match their on-court success. In February 2025, the team unveiled its 31,800-square-foot practice facility, the Sephora Performance Center, in downtown Oakland at the former practice complex of the Golden State Warriors, along with a 6,800-square-foot locker room at Chase Center. It remains an open question how the host committee and the Valkyries will coordinate fan activities across both sides of the Bay, spanning Chase Center in San Francisco and the team's Oakland performance headquarters.
Bay Area Host Committee CEO Zaileen Janmohamed framed the All-Star selection as part of a broader regional strategy, one that includes the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, Super Bowl LX, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the 2028 MLB All-Star Game, which the San Francisco Giants will host. Per the Chronicle, the Bay Area hosted six World Cup matches and Super Bowl LX, reflecting what officials describe as rapidly growing interest in women's basketball layered atop the region's run of major sporting events.
All-Star Weekend Schedule Set for Late July 2027
WNBA All-Star Weekend 2027 will feature the 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge on Friday, July 30, before culminating with the All-Star Game itself on Saturday, July 31, at Chase Center, according to RealGM. The league has historically had to recruit host teams for its All-Star Game, with recent showcases held in Phoenix in 2024, Indianapolis in 2025, and Chicago this past July — a shift Hoodline covered in its report on the Chicago takeover last month.
That the Valkyries landed the honor in just their third season underscores how quickly the calculus around hosting has shifted toward eager bidding rather than league recruitment. With a sellout streak now at 41 games and a playoff berth freshly clinched, Golden State heads into 2027 with a home-court showcase to match its rapid rise.
