A casual conversation about French wine among four friends in 2019 has turned into one of the most ambitious efforts to reshape women’s sports in the country, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.
At the center of it is part-time Delaware County resident Alexandra Niedbalski-Sykes, a French-American business executive married to comedian Wanda Sykes.
Niedbalski-Sykes began turning the idea over after noticing what Philadelphia, a city defined by its sports loyalty, was missing.
It had no professional women’s basketball team.
“Wanda challenged me and said, ‘Why don’t you do something about it,’” Niedbalski-Sykes recalled. “That’s how all this started.”
She and Sykes joined forces with Ashley Lunkenheimer, a Philadelphia native and former federal prosecutor, and her wife, Starla Crandall, a local technology executive.
Together, they launched the Philadelphia Sisters and later the Sisters Sports Group.
The organization calls itself a consultancy and national movement dedicated to creating locally led women’s sports ecosystems in cities across the country.
The first target was a big one.
The group wanted a WNBA franchise in Philadelphia, and it spent more than five years building support among sponsors, investors, elected officials, and the 76ers.
Philadelphia Sisters eventually stepped back from its independent bid to support others’ efforts.
The WNBA awarded the Sixers’ parent company, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, an expansion franchise that will begin play in 2030.
While the organization isn’t sure what role they will have with the new team, Sykes is “super excited” that their dream was achieved.
Philadelphia Sisters most recently helped bring Unrivaled women’s basketball to the city, where a January event packed 21,490 fans into Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Looking ahead, the organization is hoping to turn its attention to women’s soccer, hockey, softball, baseball, volleyball, and rugby.
The full story of how the Philadelphia Sisters turned a casual conversation into a national women’s sports movement is available now in the Philadelphia Business Journal.
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