ST. LOUIS — NBA star and St. Louis native Jayson Tatum is backing the idea of a WNBA franchise in the city, according to a report from Sportico.
The report said the prospective ownership group is being co-led by billionaires Richard Chaifetz and David Hoffman, with Tatum, of the Boston Celtics, informally agreeing to invest in the team should it come to fruition.
Ross Chaifetz, son of Richard Chaifetz and managing partner of Chaifetz Group, confirmed the report and declined further comment other than to "reiterate our belief that (St. Louis) is a great market for professional basketball."
A potential venue for the team is Chaifetz Arena, where Saint Louis University basketball teams play and named after Chaifetz donated $12 million to the school in 2007, the Sportico report said.
“St. Louis is a top-tier sports market, and we believe that bringing a WNBA franchise to the region will be a defining moment in the city’s ongoing revitalization,” Don Soffer, the spokesperson for the effort to bring Team 16 to St. Louis, told Sportico.
Efforts to reach the group and the WNBA for comment weren't immediately successful.
Click here to read the full story from the St. Louis Business Journal.
