Wnba Plans To Add Teams, Play Longer

Expansion from eight to 10 teams and a longer schedule are among the plans for the second year of the WNBA, president Val Ackerman said Saturday, when the new league’s first championship game was played.

“It’s my hope that when the NBA board of governors meets in its entirety in November in New York, we’re going to be able to recommend to them that we expand by two teams next season,” Ackerman said.

She declined to say where the teams would be located, but said several NBA teams were interested in adding WNBA franchises.

“The surprises were pleasant ones,” Ackerman said. “Fans came out in greater numbers than we hoped for, with greater levels of enthusiasm than we hoped for.

“To the extent that we misjudged anything, it was in our underestimation of the fans’ readiness for this league and for these players.”

Ackerman said the WNBA drew more than one million fans this season and reached three million households a week on national television.

Ackerman also said the league will consider adding games to its 1998 schedule. It played a 28-game schedule this season.

“I would envision perhaps expanding by a couple of games next year, having a little bit longer training camp, but all with the direction of growing the league,” Ackerman said.

There also are plans to expand the playoffs from this year’s sudden-death format.