KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The momentum for professional women's basketball in Kansas City, Missouri, has been growing for longer than previously thought.
Angie and Chris Long — the co-owners of the Kansas City Current, who returned the NWSL to Kansas City four years ago —confirmed Thursday to KSHB 41 News in an exclusive interview that they've been in talks with the WNBA about expanding to Kansas City.
"Kansas City is obviously an incredible sports town," Chris Long said. "You can see the fanfare around the Kansas City Current. You can see the blueprint that we’ve created with facilities, with the way we’ve approached the game and the business of sports. It would just be a natural extension of us to obviously bid for a franchise of the WNBA in this town."
The Longs said they've had conversations with the WNBA, which plans to expand to 16 teams, for the last three years.
"We’ve been talking to the WNBA for years," Angie Long said. "It is always something that would be of interest for us and for our city."
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes — who along with his wife, Brittany, also co-owns the Current —previously confirmed expansion talks with the WNBA.
Mahomes called bringing the WNBA to Kansas City is "no-brainer."
"Obviously, we want to get basketball to Kansas City in general," Mahomes said in October. "The WNBA and the success they had this last season and the last few seasons, it’s kind of a no-brainer to get a WNBA team to Kansas City."
Chris Long acknowledged the Mahomes' support Thursday.
"We’re gonna do our best, work as hard as we can on it," he said. "We’ve got great partners in Patrick and Brittany. We'll see where the chips fall, but I’d bet my money all day on Kansas City."
Kathy Nelson, the president and CEO of the Kansas City Sports Commission and Visit KC, has also signaled support for WNBA expansion.
She said the KC Sports Commission was helping identify members of a potential ownership group and have engaged in conversations with the T-Mobile Center about what WNBA basketball could look like there.
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