Wnba Announces Charter Cities

The Women’s National Basketball Association Wednesday unveiled its eight charter cities for the start of play next June.

The WNBA will open its inaugural 28-game season June 21 with teams in New York, Charlotte, Cleveland and Houston in the Eastern Conference and teams in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Sacramento and Utah forming the Western Conference, WNBA president Val Ackerman said at a news conference. The franchises will be sponsored by the NBA and will play in NBA arenas in those markets; team nicknames will be announced in February.

Unlike the American Basketball League, a rival women’s league that started play this month in smaller markets, the WNBA is bringing the game to the nation’s two largest markets and best-known arenas - Madison Square Garden in New York and the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles. Rebecca Lobo and Sheryl Swoopes have signed with the WNBA.

Los Angeles’ team is hopeful of signing arguably the best player in the women’s game, Lisa Leslie.