Several years after the Condors pro women's basketball team folded ( along with the league they played in ) , Chicagoans will have a chance to see a team in action starting next season, as the Women's National Basketball Association finally has a women's team coming to town.
The new team will be primarily owned and operated by Chicago businessman Michael Alter, with a select group of local investors serving as minority owners. The Chicago team is the second WNBA team to be owned and run by an entity outside of the NBA [ the Chicago Bulls were pressured by fans to start a women's team but they never stepped forward to do so ] . A Chicago native, Alter is President of The Alter Group, one of the nation's 10 largest commercial real estate developers.
Margaret Stender, who has previously held top positions at PepsiCo and Quaker Oats Company, will serve as the team's President and Chief Executive Officer. Stender is also a minority owner of the new team.
The WNBA will feature 14 teams in 2006, with the Eastern and Western Conferences comprised of seven teams each. Chicago will join the Charlotte Sting, Connecticut Sun, Detroit Shock, Indiana Fever, New York Liberty and Washington Mystics in the Eastern Conference and the Houston Comets, Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx, Phoenix Mercury, San Antonio Silver Stars, Seattle Storm and Sacramento Monarchs will remain in the Western Conference.
The newest WNBA team will play its home games at the UIC Pavilion, located on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago, with a seating capacity of 7,500.
See www.wnba.com/chicago.
Call 1-877-329-WNBA.