The All-Star game is surely one of the biggest events of the WNBA. But this year, things were a bit different. With the CBA tensions brewing, the players protested for equal pay by wearing ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us’ t-shirts.
And such a unique protest saw the league commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, react to the same following the All-Star game.
Now then, while the WNBA moved on from the All-Star weekend, the CBA tensions did not diminish at all. Thus, with yet another season coming up, things are looking extremely grim for the league.
As per the reports, it has been confirmed that the Chicago Sky will be hosting the 2026 All-Star game. Surprisingly, a new turn of events revealed that the Sky were the only team to bid for the All-Star game next year.
Chicago Sky Gets To Host Its Second All-Star Game In Five Years
Initially, the news of Sky winning the bid for the All-Star game in 2026 surprised everyone. This was because Chicago had already hosted the gala event back in 2022.
Now, there is some clarity on the matter. As per Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports, the Sky were the only team to bid for the event. However, there’s much more to the story.
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Taking a stroll in the past, the league has played an important role in persuading teams to host the events. This was pretty evident last year when the Indiana Fever played host. And going further back, it was the Phoenix Mercury who won the bid in 2024 via their President, Vince Kozar.
However, speaking about hosting the big event, Sky CEO Adam Fox seemed pretty excited. “We’re excited to do it. It’s the goal to make Chicago the best place we’ve ever had a WNBA All-Star game. That’s the kind of healthy competition in this game that everyone is interested in.”
The Chicago Sky was the ONLY team to bid on 2026 All Star Weekend according to @FOS.
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) November 11, 2025
Surely, this explains the confusion about why Chicago got its second All-Star game in five years. Meanwhile, as they were the only team to bid, here’s why so few teams bid for the WNBA All-Star game.
Why Did Nobody Else Bid For The All-Star Game Other Than the Chicago Sky?
Surely, hosting an All-Star game sounds pretty fun. But traditionally, it has been the WNBA that has sought out teams to host the same.
Now, this might come as a surprise because in the NBA, the bidding is fierce. Unfortunately, the harsh truth is that there is not much traction involved in the WNBA as compared to the NBA.
And on top of that, hosting an All-Star game requires a lot of effort and finances. Thus, with everything set for the Sky to execute, everyone now waits to see how well they pull off the task.