Why the Sky are the only team to bid for the 2026 All-Star Game
In October, the WNBA announced that Chicago will host the 2026 All-Star Game. In many ways, it threw everything for a loop, especially since Chicago previously hosted the 2022 All-Star Game.
now, answers are given on what led to this decision, per Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports. It turns out, Chicago Ski they were the only VNBA team to participate in the All-Star game.
Furthermore, the league has historically convinced teams to host the All-Star Game, as was the case in Indianapolis last July.
“We’re excited to do it,” Sky CEO Adam Fox told FOS. “The goal is to make Chicago the best place we’ve ever been.” VNBA All-Star Game. That’s the kind of healthy competition in this game that everyone’s interested in.”
In 2024, the Phoenix Mercury won their bid to host that year’s All-Star Game with the help of team president Vince Kozar.
“The initial part of it was — kind of a raise your hand if you’re interested, and then we’ll dive deeper into what is your vision for it, what would you do with it, why do you want it and do you have the infrastructure,” Kozar said.
A significant factor in the Mercury’s success was its NBA partnership with the Phoenix Suns.
“Tons of props to Chicago for what they’re doing,” Kozar said. “If we didn’t have the resources of our entire organization and the Group of 15 players, we wouldn’t be able to put on an All-Star Game of the size and scope that we did. To do it as an independent team is a huge undertaking, manpower-wise.”
The 2026 WNBA All-Star Game will be played at the United Center.
Chicago last hosted the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game
In July 2022, the WNBA All-Star Game was played at Wintrust Arena, home of the Sky. Overall, the end result drew a barrage of criticism. Access to the skills competition and other weekend activities was severely restricted.
Other than that, the environment was completely welcoming. The outdoor concert was canceled due to security concerns following a series of mass shootings.
At the same time, Chicago were criticized for not taking advantage of the Sky title a year earlier and for not advertising the game properly.
2025-11-11 20:44:00
