Before, during and after games, local establishments are riding the wave of women’s sports fans
Business is booming for the Golden State Valkyries , as well as the San Francisco businesses that have also become game-day destinations for the WNBA team’s fans. The first-year franchise has sold out all 17 of its home games at Chase Center and leads the women’s professional basketball league in average attendance with 18,064 tickets sold per game.
Sportico valued the team at $500 million in June, making the Valkyries worth more than any other WNBA team. Proprietors of local bars and breweries say they’ve noticed bigger crowds before and after the team’s contests at the San Francisco venue, as well as when their establishments’ TVs are tuned to home and away games. “We get a good amount of diverse traffic going to the game,” said Olfactory Brewing co-founder and brewer Phil Emerson, whose brewery at 2245 3rd St. is a 10-minute walk from Chase Center. “I think it really proves the point that women’s sports are for everyone.” Valkyries fans have been a shot in the arm for businesses in Thrive City, the public plaza surrounding Chase Center, sauntering into restaurants and picking up merchandise at the team store. The WNBA’s May-September regular season has given the area regular business during the Warriors’ offseason, during which there had previously been concerts and events rather than a regular tenant. Donna Daniels, Chase Center’s general manager, said the Bay Area's “enthusiasm for the Golden State Valkyries and championing of women’s sports has been remarkable to see.” She said the team “has galvanized a new community of fans, not only filling the arena on game days but also bringing a new energy to Thrive City and the entire Mission Bay neighborhood.”Since opening Rikki’s — The City’s first women’s-sports bar — two months ago on Market Street, co-owners Danielle Thoe and Sara Yergovich have built a spot where fans can comfortably watch their favorite athletes in a dedicated space. Rikki’s website notes that the bar reaches its full capacity on game days and encourages fans to arrive an hour before games begin to secure their spaces, as tables are available on a first-come, first-served basis. At Robberbaron on Polk Street, proprietor Lucrecia Torres says customers walking in for nightcaps after Valkyries home games have become increasingly common over the course of the team’s first season. “The most fun is how many people love going to the games,” said Torres, who said she enjoys observing “the amount of Valkyrie swag I see everyone wearing.”Ex // Top Stories Steph Curry, Michael Mina team up in Union Square Pair to open bourbon bar, steakhouse in hotel SF nonprofits fear for future in era of federal, city budget cuts They say philanthropy can’t fill in the gaps left by a loss of federal and city government investment Local experts: Demand for at-home reproductive care on the rise The COVID-19 pandemic helped spark demand. Changes in abortion access and newly available tests are driving higher The Polk Street watering hole could keep the good vibes rolling beyond the conclusion of the WNBA regular season Sept. 11. Golden State was seventh in the WNBA standings as of Wednesday, and the top eight teams in the league qualify for the playoffs. No WNBA expansion team has ever made the postseason in its inaugural campaign, and the Valkyries already hold the record for most wins — 19 and counting — by a team in its first season. A shot at history and playoff glory could attract larger crowds to establishments such as Robberbaron when the playoffs begin Sept. 14. Megan Doherty-Baker, who co-founded the “Valqueeries” group for LGBTQ fans of the team, said it has been “glorious and joyous, yet not at all surprising to watch the Bay Area embrace the Valkyries with fervor.” She said the region’s “deep legacy of sports fandom” and legions of women’s sports fans — just last weekend at Oracle Park, the soccer team Bay Football Club set an attendance record for a U.S. professional women’s sports game — has meant “embracing this incredible team and coaching staff has come with great ease.” Doherty-Baker said the team is full of “scrappy and tenacious” players, about whom fans have “had no doubt since preseason that they would battle every play and every game to get into playoff position.”Should the Valkyries make the playoffs, it’s possible they’ll play their first home postseason game outside San Francisco. The Laver Cup tennis tournament is set for Sept. 19-21 at Chase Center, and The City was announced as its host more than a year before the Valkyries’ debut. No matter where the Valkyries call home in the playoffs, Emerson said the team has become “a source of pride to the neighborhood” near Chase Center. It’s “just fun” to be involved in the Bay Area’s burgeoning fan community for professional women’s basketball.
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