Cathy Engelbert said she did not know how the economic crisis would affect the league going forwardNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The WNBA still does not have a date to begin play, but Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league is trying to "get a semblance of a season in this summer into the fall," according to Madeline Kenney of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. Engelbert added that she "doesn’t know when training camps might open, how a season would be played or how the economic crisis might affect the league." Engelbert said that the situation "remains fluid, but playing without fans or playing at a neutral site that has had limited exposure to the virus are viable options." Engelbert: ‘‘We’re not taking any options off the table, and we’re doing a lot of analysis." The WNBA has "flexibility in its schedule because it carved out a monthlong break from July 11 to Aug. 13 for the Tokyo Olympics, which have been postponed until 2021." Still, there is the "potential for the season to go well into the fall" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 4/18).
SHARING IS CARING: In Boston, Gary Washburn noted for the first time, the WNBA and NBA "could play regular-season games at the same time." Engelbert of that prospect said, "We don't share as many arenas as you think we share probably across our 12 teams. But I also think where we do share arena, it's a time of opportunity that we could probably do back-to-backs or doubleheaders or look at a variety of things around our current arenas" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/19). ESPN.com's Mechelle Voepel noted only five WNBA teams "actually share the same arena" as an NBA team: Pacers-Fever, Lakers-Clippers-Sparks, T'Wolves-Lynx, Nets-Liberty and Suns-Mercury. The Mercury "were already scheduled to play in Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum this season while Talking Stick Resort Arena undergoes a renovation." Engelbert last Friday said that "doubleheaders with the NBA teams and different fan engagements are among the things being discussed" in regard to the league having a '20 season (ESPN.com, 4/17).
