Valkyries' rise brings 2027 WNBA All-Star Game to San Francisco
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Let's go, Valks! Photo: Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images
San Francisco will host the 2027 WNBA All-Star Game, adding to the city’s growing roster of major sporting events.
State of play: Tuesday's announcement comes a day after the Golden State Valkyries secured their second straight playoff berth, beating the Dallas Wings 78-70.
- Just two seasons in, the Valkyries have made the playoffs both years — an unprecedented start for a WNBA expansion team — while becoming the world's most valuable women's sports franchise, valued at $1 billion by CNBC this year.
Driving the news: The city's first WNBA All-Star Game will be played July 31, 2027, at the Chase Center, with the 3-point contest the night before and other events planned across the Bay Area.
The big picture: Women’s sports in the region are booming. The Valkyries broke the WNBA's attendance record during their inaugural season, Bay FC is in its third season and new pro hockey and volleyball teams are expanding the region’s women’s sports footprint.
- That momentum extends beyond the arena: Rikki's, which opened last year in the Castro, serves as a hub for Valkyries fans and the city's first women's sports bar — another sign of growing local demand.
Between the lines: The Valkyries expansion has quickly become one of the biggest success stories in women’s sports, helping turn San Francisco into a model for how women’s basketball can thrive in a new market, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said during Tuesday's announcement.
- "Successful expansion is about much more than putting a team in a new city and selling tickets, it's about building something that feels authentic to that community," she said. "The Valkyries have created an incredible blueprint for what that can look like."
Zoom out: The WNBA announcement extends a remarkable run of big-ticket sporting events for the Bay Area, coming just days after MLB awarded the 2028 All-Star Game to Oracle Park.
- Landing sports and entertainment events has become a key piece of Mayor Daniel Lurie's economic recovery strategy to change the post-pandemic narrative about San Francisco.
- The region recently hosted NBA All-Star Weekend, the 2026 Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup matches, with San Francisco serving as a base for fan events.
What's next: The WNBA will announce ticket information and a full lineup of All-Star events in the coming months. For now, the Valkyries have a playoff run to make.
- The Valkyries face off against the Minnesota Lynx tonight at 7.
- Go Valks!