The Golden State Valkyries are teaming up with two Bay Area library systems to put the team's branding directly into patrons' wallets, offering new library cards and decals at San Francisco and Alameda County branches starting September 17. The rollout follows launch events on Wednesday, September 16, at the San Francisco Main Library and the Albany Library, both open to the public.
According to KRON4, the San Francisco launch event takes place at 100 Larkin St. from 2 to 4 p.m. and requires an RSVP. Per the event listing on goldenstate.com, opening remarks are scheduled for 2:15 p.m., with San Francisco City Librarian Michael Lambert and Valkyries Senior Vice President of Community Yoyo Murphy speaking before the new cards become available to the public at 3 p.m. Lambert oversees San Francisco Public Library operations, while Murphy directs community initiatives for the team.
Meanwhile, the Albany launch event runs from 3 to 5 p.m. at 1248 Marin Ave. and also requires an RSVP, the station's report notes. Both San Francisco and Alameda County library systems will hold their own versions of the card launch, with new cards or decals reaching all branches in each system the following day.
Decals Versus New Plastic: A Key Difference Between Counties
The two library systems are taking different approaches to the promotion. Rather than issuing full plastic card replacements, Alameda County Library is distributing two limited-edition card decals developed with the Valkyries, according to Alameda County Library. The decals let patrons affix Valkyries artwork to their existing cards while keeping their current library card numbers intact, avoiding the need for account re-registration.
San Francisco Public Library, by contrast, will debut newly designed physical cards. Library cards for both systems remain free to any California resident who applies in person with valid photo identification, the Alameda County Library notes, and state public library standards allow residents to hold cards across municipal and county lines.
Building on Past Team-Branded Card Promotions
This isn't the first time a Golden State basketball franchise has partnered with Bay Area libraries. San Francisco Public Library and East Bay library systems previously issued custom Golden State Warriors library cards in 2018 and again in 2024, according to SFGate, with the 2018 cards co-released alongside Oakland Public Library to support a summer reading initiative.
San Francisco Public Library has leaned on sports partnerships more broadly to drive card enrollment, having issued custom San Francisco 49ers cards ahead of the Super Bowl earlier in 2026 as well as San Francisco Giants cards in prior seasons. The strategy reflects a pattern of tying library promotions to major team moments or seasonal pushes across the Bay Area.
A Franchise Riding Record Popularity
The Valkyries' community push comes amid a surge in local demand for the team. In their inaugural 2025 WNBA season at Chase Center, the Valkyries set all-time league attendance records, averaging 18,064 fans across 22 sellout home games for a total of 397,408 attendees, according to the Golden State Valkyries, becoming the first WNBA expansion team to sell out every home game in its debut year.
That demand carried into 2026, when the Valkyries sold out all 12,000 season ticket packages at Chase Center and established a waitlist requiring a $25 deposit per seat, expanding from roughly 10,000 season ticket holders in their first year. Financial estimates published by Sportico in May valued the franchise at $850 million, making it the highest-valued team in the WNBA in just its second season, as Hoodline previously reported. Warriors ownership originally acquired the expansion team in 2023 for a $50 million fee.
Although the Valkyries play their home games at Chase Center in San Francisco, the team's corporate offices and official practice facility are based in Oakland, according to Wikipedia — a dual-city footprint that mirrors the joint library campaign spanning both San Francisco and Alameda County. The WNBA overall has posted consecutive attendance records in 2025 and 2026, surpassing 3 million total regular-season attendees league-wide, led in large part by the Valkyries' home crowds, Hoodline has reported.
