Josh Weiner
Mark Walter is looking to sell the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks along with the team’s practice facility for more than $700 million, a move that would continue his recent pattern of stepping back from parts of his sports ownership portfolio.
The practice facility, built at a cost of $150 million, is set to open ahead of the 2027 season, meaning a buyer would be acquiring a franchise with a brand-new piece of infrastructure already in place.
An asking price above $700 million would shatter the current WNBA sale record by a wide margin. The existing benchmark stands at $300 million, the amount the Fertitta family paid to acquire the Connecticut Sun.
Walter, a co-founder of money management firm Guggenheim Partners, sold the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this year at a $12.5 billion valuation to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger, and reporting indicates the pair had separately discussed acquiring the Sparks as well, though they are not currently listed among potential buyers for this deal.
The Sparks sale effort marks another step in what has become a broader pullback from Walter's sports holdings, following the high-profile Lakers transaction, as he continues to reshape which teams remain part of his ownership portfolio.
A completed sale at or near the asking price would mark a watershed moment for WNBA franchise valuations, potentially signaling that investor appetite for women's basketball franchises has grown substantially beyond what previous transactions in the league have reflected.
