NYC’s hometown WNBA team the New York Liberty is having a moment. Here’s why.
Trends in New York may pivot faster than Jonquel Jones on the basketball court, but the new seafoam-green craze sweeping the city is here to stay. Once a niche subset of New Yorkers, Liberty fans are more common than not these days—packing the Barclays Stadium for home games, sporting jerseys and merch from The Rockaways to Broadway, and soon, cheering on hometown players on Team USA at the Paris Olympics.
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First, a little history. The New York Liberty was founded in 1997 as one of the WNBA’s original franchise teams, with legendary players like Rebecca Lobo and Teresa Weatherspoon dribbling across the court at Madison Square Garden. Though the team was well-received and reached the WNBA finals several times, misogyny plagued the team and the league, never letting The Liberty reach the unparalleled success of their MSG counterparts, The Knicks. In 2018, the team relocated to a place few New Yorkers venture voluntarily—White Plains—cutting costs significantly by playing at the 5,000-seat multi-purpose Westchester County Center. It was a blow to the fans and the players, top professional athletes and Olympians being treated and compensated like amateurs.
2019 ushered in a new era, Joseph Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai purchased the team and soon became owners of The Brooklyn Nets and The Barclays Center. The Tsais relocated The Liberty to Brooklyn for the 2020 season. By 2021, fans from every borough commuted to the Fort Greene stadium to cheer on the home team and brand new mascot, Ellie the Elephant. A fandom leaned into the 2020s era updates, a continuation of the momentum, rather than a reinvention of a longstanding winning team, according to New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke.
“We lean into things that make Brooklyn, Brooklyn,” says Clarke. “The style, the culture, the art. We’re having that really come through in the way that our entire brand shows up on game day. It’s authentic.”
For many, athletics and a surge in the popularity of women’s sports are drawing troves of New Yorkers of all backgrounds into Barclays on game day. For others, it’s the ethos of the Liberty, a true New York institution.
“The Liberty really has this connective tissue to the tenants of the Statue of Liberty,” says Clarke. “Enlightening the pathway, standing for equality, and standing for freedom. It’s celebratory. I think it feels a little bit more special for a marginalized community. It’s women of color. It’s LGBTQIA+ people. Where can I be my authentic self? It’s out at a New York Liberty game.”
“Where can I be my authentic self? It’s out at a New York Liberty game.”
If you’ve ever felt the heat of the enormous torch’s flickering flames on the court, heard a crowd full of strangers scream appreciation for a celesbian sitting courtside on “Ce-Liberty Row” or danced along with the team’s official spirit squad, the Timeless Torches, all over 40, you get it.
New York Liberty’s fandom is undeniably on the rise. Season ticket memberships are up 54% year over year and the team is on pace to see a 70% growth in ticket revenue compared to last year. Average ticket prices are up by 34% and ticket sales have generated more revenue this season than the past two seasons combined. Those who can’t resist an Ellie T-shirt or Laney-Hamilton jersey probably understand why merch sales in the arena are up 68% since last season. Glance up at crowds cheering in Statue of Liberty costumes and custom fan gear in the previously empty upper bowl of the arena, ticketed for every game this season, many of which reach over 17,000 attendees.
“It’s just growing year by year,” says Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu. “Obviously [with] what we’ve been able to do in such a short amount of time we’ve been able to bring a lot of fans out. They enjoy watching us play. We play hard. We play tough with a lot of grit and energy, and I believe that the fans just continue to show up for us year after year and have brought new fans to the game as well, who’ve been able to support us.”
Unlike other New York teams, the Nets versus the Knicks, the Yankees versus the Mets, the Jets versus the Giants, the Rangers versus Islanders, the Liberty stand independently, the only WNBA team in the state, or New Jersey, or Pennsylvania. Support from basketball fans and women’s sports enthusiasts is unanimous. Socially, the fandom overlaps with New York’s other major professional women’s teams—Gotham FC.
Coach Sandy Brondello sees being in a top basketball locale, New York, as a major asset to the team playing for the greatest city in the world in seafoam green, an homage to the Statue of Liberty. “It’s great to go out there with Liberty across our uniform. We are for all of New York,” Brundello says. “We take pride in representing New York well. We want to be the best. For me, I want to try and bring that first [WNBA] championship to New York, and that would be pretty special. Hopefully, it happens this year.”
“It’s great to go out there with Liberty across our uniform. We are for all of New York.”
The Liberty may be winning at fandom, but the 27-year-old team is eager to take home their first Championship Trophy. After losing by a single point to the Las Vegas Aces just before the buzzer last October, the title is well within reach.
“I wanted to come to New York and help this team win its first-ever WNBA championship, and we’re still fighting to do that. I know that we’ve gained many, many thousands of fans to support and follow us along the way. They know that we got a good thing going here and they want to be a part of it.” says New York Liberty Forward Breanna Stewart, 2023’s WNBA MVP. “Representing New York means to fight, to be bold, to be fearless. And just do it the New York Way.”
Where to watch New York Liberty games
New York City has yet to see a bar dedicated to showing women’s sports open in any borough.
Locally, every game is broadcast on FOX 5, so any bar in the New York area can show the games. Just ask if it’s not on already.
Torched hosts queer, inclusive watch parties of New York Liberty games at Crystal Lake in Gowanus.
Lower East Side beer bar Fool’s Gold hosts Liberty watch parties, as does Blue Haven South in FiDi, in partnership with Althea’s, a new women’s sports bar opening in Manhattan. Athena Keke’s, a queer bar for women’s sports planning to open in Brooklyn hosts pop-up events around the borough.