New York Liberty basketball team, which currently competes in the WNBA, is for sale. This was announced on Tuesday by James Dolan, Executive Chairman of The Madison Square Garden Company. The MSG Company owns the team, alongside owning the major share of the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers.
“We have been a strong and vocal advocate for the Liberty and the WNBA since the beginning. As the last original owner, I am proud of how far the league has come, and the role we have played in its growth,”- said Dolan. “This was a difficult decision for us, which we made after carefully assessing the needs of our business. We are confident that new ownership can build on the foundation we established over these last 21 years, and steward this incredible franchise into an even more successful future.”
New York Liberty is one of the eight teams that participated in the inaugural season of WNBA in 1997. Today, it remains one of the three teams that operate in its original city, the two others being the Phoenix Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks. The new owners will likely keep the Liberty in New York, given the city’s big market and appeal. The team had the league’s second best attendance last season, with 9,724 people coming to their games on average. Previously in 2010, the Liberty set the leagues record when the average attendance was around 11,000.
In the last WNBA season, the Liberty finished as the top seed in the Eastern Conference with 22 wins. Team’s playoff run, however, didn’t last long, since they were defeated in the second round by Washington Mystics. In the previous 21 seasons, the Liberty managed to find its way to the playoff 15 times. They currently hold the league’s record for most Finals appearances without a championship. The Liberty participated in the WNBA Finals four times, losing each time.
