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On September 26, 2023, it was reported by ''[[The Athletic]]'' that the owners of the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]]'s [[Golden State Warriors]], [[Joe Lacob]] and [[Peter Guber]], were finalizing an agreement to start a WNBA [[expansion team]] in [[San Francisco]].<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://theathletic.com/4902855/2023/09/26/warriors-wnba-bay-area/?source=emp_shared_article|website=[[The Athletic]]|title=Warriors finalizing agreement to bring WNBA team to Bay Area: Sources|date=September 26, 2023|author=Thompson II, Marcus}}</ref> Lacob had previously helped found the [[American Basketball League (1996–1998)|American Basketball League]] (ABL), which played before the WNBA, and owned one of their teams, the [[San Jose Lasers]].<ref name="auto1"/> The ABL folded in 1998 and the Lasers were the last [[San Francisco Bay Area]] women's basketball team.<ref name="auto1"/>
On October 5, 2023, the expansion team was officially announced, with plans to begin play in 2025, being the first expansion team in the WNBA since the [[Atlanta Dream]] in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-wnba-expansion-franchise-warriors-ef65eb9d90d36595f87468f0647c1980|agency=[[Associated Press]]|title=Golden State Warriors granted WNBA expansion franchise to begin play in 2025|date=October 5, 2023|author=McCauley, Janie}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/38572580/wnba-announces-bay-area-expansion-team-begin-play-2025|publisher=[[ESPN]]|title=WNBA announces Bay Area expansion team to begin play in 2025|date=October 5, 2023|author=Shelburne, Ramona}}</ref> The expansion fee for the franchise was reported to be $50 million over 10 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/warriors-commit-record-50m-secure-170752570.html|website=[[Yahoo.com]]|title=Warriors to Pay Record $50M to Secure WNBA Expansion Team|date=October 5, 2023|author=Novy0Williams, Eben; Soshnick, Scott}}</ref> It was reported that the team name's would include "Golden State", with announcement of the name, logos, and uniforms to come at a later date.<ref name="auto2"/> Lacob and Guber became the team's owners, and it was announced that the team would play its home games at the [[Chase Center]] in San Francisco, while being headquartered in [[Oakland]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nba.com/news/wnba-expansion-team-bay-area-2025|publisher=[[National Basketball Association]]|title=WNBA expansion team awarded to Bay Area, will begin play in 2025|date=October 5, 2023}}</ref>
Within the first few hours of being announced, over 2,000 season ticket deposits were placed.<ref name="auto2"/> On January 30, 2024, Jess Smith, an executive with [[Angel City FC]], was hired as the team's president.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/39422907/angel-city-fc-exec-jess-smith-head-warriors-wnba-team|publisher=[[ESPN]]|title=Angel City FC exec Jess Smith to head Warriors' WNBA team|author=Philippou, Alexa|date=January 30, 2024}}</ref> On April 16, the team surpassed 6,000 season ticket deposits.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/16/2025-wnba-draft-five-prospects-to-watch-for-golden-states-expansion-team/|newspaper=[[The Mercury News]]|title=2025 WNBA Draft: Five prospects to watch for Golden State’s expansion team |author=Mastrodonato, Jason|date=April 16, 2024}}</ref> An [[expansion draft]] is scheduled to be held in December 2024, and Golden State will participate in its first [[WNBA draft]] in [[2025 WNBA draft|2025]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wnba.com/golden-state/faq|publisher=[[Women's National Basketball Association]]|title=Golden State FAQ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/what-s-next-golden-state-wnba-team-timeline-18640134.php|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|url-access=subscription|title=What’s next for Golden State WNBA team? Timeline for name, GM, coach, roster|date=February 1, 2024|author=Ingemi, Marisa}}</ref>
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