No more ballin’ on a budget: Chicago Sky react to announcement of new practice facility

The investment represents a more forward-thinking era for the franchise and should help the team compete in a loaded free agency market in 2026.

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Sky player experience has lagged the rest of the league

You don’t come to the Sky for the amenities — or, at least, that was the case historically. Since 2011, the team has practiced at a public recreation center 30 miles north of Chicago’s downtown. 

Sachs Recreation Center in Deerfield, Illinois, offers the bare necessities of a gym, weight room and film room. But it lacks the access and amenities that are typical for elite athletes. Players can’t train or get treatment outside of reserved hours. They don’t have their own lockers or access to other personalized spaces. 

Partly as a result, the Sky struggled in the free agency market.

After leading the Sky to their first WNBA championship in 2021, WNBA legend Candace Parker signed with the Las Vegas Aces in 2023. Parker’s decision was multi-faceted, including a desire to be closer to her daughter. But she later said on “The Draymond Green Show” that she wanted to finish her career somewhere that represented the progress of the league rather than its struggle. In Las Vegas, she’d have her own locker for the first time in her career.

Other veteran stars have chosen to sign with teams that invest heavily in player experience. Ahead of the 2024 season, the Seattle Storm signed the Sky’s two top free agency targets, Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith.

But in the background, the Sky were making necessary organizational changes. 

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How the Sky laid the groundwork for the future

The organization raised $8.5 million from a group of investors that included Foot Locker CEO Mary Dillon and Chicago Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts. It also hired an accomplished executive in Nadia Rawlinson as chief operating officer.

And after the departure of former head coach and general manager James Wade, the Sky finally separated those two roles. They were the last WNBA team to have one person serve as both general manager and head coach.

Now, the Sky will have an advantage when it comes to player experience. Currently, only three of 12 WNBA teams have exclusive access to their practice facility. The other nine teams share space. [Editor’s note: The Indiana Fever reached out to The Next to point out that while both the Fever and Pacers play at newly renovated Gainbridge Arena, the Fever have their own practice court, locker room, weight room, film room, training room, meeting rooms and more.]

Though the Sky’s $38 million investment falls short of the league’s newest facilities (Phoenix spent $100 million, Seattle spent $64 million and Las Vegas spent $40 million), it will be an immediate upgrade over Sachs Recreation Center.

Competing in a loaded free agency market in 2026

According to the Sky’s press release, the 40,000-square-foot facility will have two regulation-sized WNBA courts, an advanced training room, a private chef’s kitchen and personalized lockers.

Its location 11 miles south of Wintrust Arena will allow players to live downtown and sleep in their own beds the night before games. Most players currently live in an apartment complex near Sachs and stay in a hotel the night before games.

“I’m happy that they’re making that a priority because that means we’re their priority,” Sky guard Dana Evans told The Next about the new facility. “And when we’re their priority, you’re gonna get better production, better everything.”

Though the organization declined to share several critical details about the facility — how exactly it will be funded, for example — the projected timing will be perfect for the Sky to capitalize on their investment. Almost no veteran WNBA players have signed with their current teams past 2025 because a new collective bargaining agreement that could raise player salaries is expected to be in place for 2026.

Combine this with the additions of two expansion teams, and free agency could totally remake the league in 2026.

In a best-case scenario, the Sky will arrive at that critical juncture with a new facility and a solid core of guard Chennedy Carter, forward Angel Reese and center Kamilla Cardoso. That could make the Sky the sort of free agency destination that used to lure their stars away.

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Blending ‘old-school’ mindset and new-school investment

Rather than making big financial investments in player experience, the Sky have historically relied on strong player-coach relationships and a familial culture to build value.

Now the Sky are making financial investments a priority, too. But in some ways, first-year head coach Teresa Weatherspoon embodies the organization’s previous approach.

As the organization delayed the announcement of its new practice facility this season, Weatherspoon maintained that having “a ball and a basket” is “more than enough.” Fans clung to Weatherspoon’s bond with Carter and Reese as the season’s most promising development. 

“It’s amazing to me — you know I’m old school — that you have to sell a facility to players,” Weatherspoon told reporters after the new facility was announced. “Because … when you’re done playing, can you pick that facility up and take it with you? Or can you take away the learning, the wisdom, the knowledge that was poured in?”

It’s true that basketball delivers many intangible benefits, but WNBA players are not just regular players living out their hoop dreams. They are world-class professionals fighting to elevate their working conditions to the level of other major sports leagues.

“[Investments in dedicated facilities] signify the standard we have as a league,” Sky veteran Diamond DeShields told The Next at practice during the Olympic break. 

In a few cases around the league, the status quo still trails college athletics. “In college, there’s state-of-the-art facilities that you practice in and train in,” DeShields said. “As you get better, you shouldn’t have less access.”

Ultimately, the Sky recognized the importance of the player perspective. As Weatherspoon told reporters, “[Do practice facilities] mean a lot to most players? Yes. So what do you do because it has meaning? You sell it.”

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