WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries Unveil Plans for Two Populous-Designed Facilities

In 2025, the WNBA will welcome The Golden State Valkyries – the first women’s professional basketball team in the Bay Area – and first expansion to the league since 2010. 

During their 2025 debut at Chase Center, the Valkyries will share the 18,000+ capacity indoor arena in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. The Populous-designed Valkyries Locker Room will serve as the team’s headquarters on home game days. It encompasses 6,800-square feet of world-class amenities including a training room, player lounge and dining areas, and separate offices for coaches, player development and medical staff purpose-built specifically for the players of the WNBA’s Bay Area franchise.  

The dynamic, eye-catching V-shaped locker room design incorporates and expands on the themes of the Valkyries logo, which features the Bay Bridge connecting San Francisco and Oakland with the cables also serving as wings symbolizing the unity of Valkyries in flight. 

Tang Chuenchomphu, Associate, states:

We are honored to support the championship pursuits of WNBA teams and create a bedrock for the Golden State Valkyries in their quest for success. Our focus is on the athlete’s experience, and when they enter the locker room, a purpose-built environment with amenities is essential for supporting athletic performance when preparing for, and recovering from, championship-level play.

Once the headquarters of the Golden State Warriors from 1997-2019, the revamped Valkyries Practice Facility in Oakland is another fit-for-purpose design for the franchise that will be completed ahead of the team’s 2025 debut. The world-class facility will offer players and coaches full-time access to 31,800 square feet of dedicated training and development space in downtown Oakland. 

The gym will house to two full-size basketball courts, with additional court space for 17 basketball hoops throughout the facility, and includes a locker room, weight room, training room, a dedicated player lounge and separate player and family lounge, and unrivaled amenities across the facility. 

Amber Luther, Principal, comments:

Practice facilities have become a key enabler for recruiting and attracting world-class talent for competitive leagues like the WNBA. A high-end, comprehensive training facility is a difference-maker that can move the needle and give franchises an ‘edge’ when it comes to going after players. Both projects round out the needs of the Valkyries, definitively ‘planting their flag’ in advance of their debut season, and we are very excited to be a part of it.