The Golden State Valkyries become first WNBA team to sell 10,000 season tickets

The expansion franchise will be playing in front of some big crowds at the Chase Center in their inaugural season

The Golden State Valkyries will tip-off their inaugural season as a WNBA franchise on May 16 when they host the Los Angeles Sparks at the Chase Center, and there is plenty of excitement for the newest franchise in the Bay Area. 

On Wednesday, the team announced it had sold more than 10,000 season tickets, becoming the first team in WNBA history to do so. The Valkyries had already set records for season ticket deposits, reaching 22,000, but converting deposits into actual ticket packages sold is a different proposition. Hitting the 10,000 season tickets mark is quite the milestone for an expansion team and provides a clear data point that the WNBA made the right choice in putting their first expansion franchise since 2008 in San Francisco. 

The challenge for the Valkyries will be to build a team over the next few years that can build on this initial excitement by winning and competing as a playoff team. That is a crucial (and at times difficult) step for the success of an expansion team, but they are certainly off to a great start in terms of building a foundation of fans in the Bay Area. 

Next year, the league's expansion will continue as the Toronto Tempo and the yet to be named Portland franchise will join the league as the 14th and 15th franchises. The WNBA has plans to add one more team in the near future to bring the total to 16 teams, and there are a number of cities that have placed bids to land that franchise. The success of the Valkyries in selling season tickets for their inaugural season is a good reminder of why so many are trying to launch a franchise and capitalize on the current women's basketball boom.