How New York's hosting of Unrivaled women's basketball compared to Philadelphia's

NEW YORK — If someone starts making money somewhere, the Big Apple often isn’t far behind trying to claim a piece.

So when Philadelphia’s hosting of Unrivaled’s women’s basketball league banked $2 million in revenue, turning profits for the league and Comcast, it wasn’t surprising that this city wanted in.

Nor was it surprising that Unrivaled wanted it too. The three-on-three circuit and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center had already talked about next season, but a deal quickly came together to move this season’s playoff semifinals here. It was a natural fit for a venue renowned for drawing some of the WNBA’s biggest and loudest crowds to New York Liberty games.

“When this opportunity came up, they jumped right on it,” Paige Bueckers of Breeze BC and the Dallas Wings said. “I played here a couple times before, and the atmosphere in the arena is just electric. [Philadelphia] was everything that we could have dreamed that it would be, and so it’s obviously an opportunity that we want to take advantage of again.”

How would this scene compare to Xfinity Mobile Arena’s record crowd of 21,490, as the city unleashed itself from a 28-year-wait to see professional women’s basketball in person?

Natasha Cloud played diplomat, being both a Broomall native and Liberty fan favorite.

» READ MORE: Unrivaled’s Philadelphia spectacle delivered not just a big crowd, but a profitable one

“This is just a testament to the demand [for] women’s basketball right now,” the Phantom BC guard said. “This [night] is going to sell out tonight again, just like Philly did. And this is why we’re going to continue to stand on our worth and our value because when you give the product, the demand is there.”

One could guess that New York would deliver more cash. Fans here will pay up for a big show, and the Barclays Center recently added swaths of new luxury seating.

Before Monday’s games, Unrivaled CEO Alex Bazzell met with the media and said, “this is already a profitable trip,” including over $1 million in ticket revenue alone.

He also was unabashed in drawing a straight line from Unrivaled’s success in Philadelphia to going on the road again a few weeks later. This night came together in just three weeks, from landing the building to selling it out.

“To be honest with you, it was somewhat of an internal split room on, ‘Should we pull the trigger on this? Should we not?’” he said. “Coming off Philly and having that great success was one thing, but it was also we had time to strategize and plan [and] had a great partner like Xfinity come in behind it and help amplify it [as a sponsor].”

» READ MORE: Kahleah Copper shares North Philly with Unrivaled teammates: ‘I really made it because of y’all’

In the end, the executives trusted their gut and were rewarded.

“This was all organic,” Bazzell said. “We can look at all the data that you want, but, ultimately, the decision came down to: We didn’t play it safe to build this league, so we don’t start playing it safe now. That’s not in our DNA.”

On one count, Brooklyn always was going to land far short of Philadelphia. The Barclays Center is a much smaller venue than Xfinity Mobile Arena, and its full house Monday was 18,261.

So Philadelphia gets something to claim while it waits for its own WNBA team in 2030, and it’s a mark that could stand for a while. Just three pro basketball arenas nationwide have larger capacities: Detroit, Washington, and Chicago.

“Philly was amazing, from everything that I saw and from talking to everybody that came back,” Brittney Griner, a star of Vinyl BC and the Atlanta Dream, said after watching those games from afar. “It looked amazing on TV — they packed out that stadium. It shows how much women’s basketball is growing and there’s a love and there’s a need and people want to come and watch.”

» READ MORE: Unrivaled stars experience Philly’s passion for basketball at record-breaking doubleheader: ‘We felt that tonight’

Breanna Stewart, one of Unrivaled’s cofounders, said, “the conversation from the players was just a tremendous amount of appreciation” for the turnout.

“What I think is probably the coolest about Philly is we went to a non-WNBA city,” she said. “People came, and they cared, and whether they had to travel in [or] all those types of things, it showed how big of a deal it is.”

Of course, the superstar of Mist BC and the New York Liberty admitted her bias toward Brooklyn, as one would expect. And since this was a playoff game, she had to earn the right to play in it.

“Ever since I knew that this was possible … for it to come to fruition and full circle that fast is something that I couldn’t wait to be a part of,” she said. “Like, my team needed to be here in the semis. I didn’t want to come as a spectator; I wanted to be playing.”

» READ MORE: Unrivaled brought the hoops, but Philly brought the energy. With WNBA on the way, ‘this is just the beginning.’

Stewart duly delivered, willing Mist to a 73-69 win with a fourth-quarter comeback that had the crowd roaring. She piled up 23 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, dishing the last to Arike Ogunbowale for a game-sealing three-pointer on the Wings star’s birthday.

Bazzell confirmed there are plans to keep touring next season, and there’s a lot of “inbound interest” from potential hosts. He didn’t name specific cities, but he did say preliminary talks with the Barclays Center had started with looking at next year instead of this one.

He also said “going to cities that really don’t get to see these stars up close” matters. And he threw the door wide-open to a return to Philadelphia, though it might not happen next season

“We want to find our way back to Philly,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s next year, the following year, or the year after — we do want to hit new markets. … There’s obviously other NBA markets we still want to think about going to. So I would anticipate new venues, new cities next year when we do announce our [schedule].”

» READ MORE: Natasha Cloud was thrilled that ‘Young Tash’ got a Philly hoops homecoming with Unrivaled: ‘I carry this city everywhere I go’

The last word goes to a player who was a star of both touring nights. Kelsey Plum led Phantom BC to a win in Philadelphia and another here, this time scoring 31 points in an 83-75 victory over Vinyl. A longtime villain in Brooklyn from past years with the Las Vegas Aces, this time she was roundly cheered.

“Basketball cities, right? And I think they just love the game,” she said. “I thought everyone put on a show, and that’s what you want for the fans.”