Transwestern VP Morgan Bartelstein shares insights on WNBA facility upgrade trend

The GIST: Leading U.S. commercial real estate firm Transwestern recently named Morgan Bartelstein as a company VP and a member of its sports and entertainment team. In this new role, she will work on leveling up WNBA franchises by finding top-tier real estate for teams to enhance their operations.

• Bartelstein, who has largely focused on naming rights deals in previous roles, spoke with The GIST last Thursday about how Transwestern is making a serious play to close the WNBA’s infrastructure gap with new and improved facilities. Ball out.

The context: As the WNBA grows and teams improve their financial outlooks, many are looking to upgrade their practice facilities. The Las Vegas Aces started the trend in 2023 with the first-ever purpose-built facility exclusively for the WNBA team led by CAA’s Icon division, followed by the Seattle Storm’s groundbreaking $64M digs, which explored naming rights sponsorships this spring.

• The trend is picking up steam, especially after a summer of record W engagement. In July, the Chicago Sky announced plans for a $38M performance center set to open by December 2025, while the Golden State Valkyries broke ground for its new facilities last week.

Transwestern’s involvement: The company has been supporting the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and the NBA’s Suns franchise owner Mat Ishbia with the team’s revitalization efforts in downtown Phoenix. The project, which spans 7.3 acres, includes the Mercury’s $100M practice facility that opened in July.

• After wrapping construction on the Mercury project, Transwestern locked in deals with multiple other WNBA teams to work on a variety of development projects.

• Bartelstein noted that in her new role, her team will continue to work on bringing corporate partnerships on board for these new real estate developments, which means “being really thoughtful around what brands we can bring into the mix.”

The innovations: When it comes to facilities, Bartelstein noted that W teams are open to doing things differently, from constructing meeting rooms for their entrepreneurial players to glam suites to pamper the whole squad. Building things out with a different blueprint also gives brands more opportunities to activate around teams beyond arenas alone. Getting in on the ground floor.