The Arena
Clara Wu Tsai. Photo by Erin BeachClara Wu Tsai’s Plan to Build the First $1 Billion WNBA Franchise
The co-owner and governor of the New York Liberty discusses surging WNBA valuations, the rise of sports streaming and negotiations with the league’s players over a new contract.
When Clara Wu Tsai and her husband, Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai, bought the WNBA’s New York Liberty in 2019, one of her first priorities was convincing her fellow team owners they needed to spend money to see real growth in the sport.
“For so long, we felt that the owners in the league have been operating from this scarcity mindset and just trying to save money,” Wu Tsai said earlier this week at The Information’s Women in Tech, Media and Finance conference in Yountville, Calif. “But that’s not how you grow.
“We’re spending money in order to grow,” said Wu Tsai, who is the governor of the Liberty and also co-owns the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets with her husband. “That’s a mindset.”