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Sports Edge deskSports Edge · Huang GoodmanSource: LA Times ↗
In plain words
Walter's **$700M+** ask for the Sparks tests whether infrastructure and market access justify a **14x** premium over recent expansion pricing.
$2.15 billion
for that franchise in 2012
$700 million
when packaged with the team's practice facility
$86 million
record set when Joe Tsai bought the New York…
$10 million
The team plays at Crypto
Mark Walter, the Dodgers owner who paid $2.15 billion for that franchise in 2012, has quietly circulated the Los Angeles Sparks to potential buyers at a price north of $700 million when packaged with the team's practice facility. The ask would shatter the $86 million record set when Joe Tsai bought the New York Liberty in 2019, and would arrive just as the WNBA prepares to announce expansion franchises in San Francisco, Portland, and Toronto at reported valuations near $50 million each.
Walter's Guggenheim Baseball Management acquired the Sparks in 2014 for an undisclosed sum, then estimated around $10 million. The team plays at Crypto.com Arena under a lease arrangement with AEG, sharing the building with the Lakers and Kings. The practice facility—a dedicated 40,000-square-foot complex in El Segundo completed in 2021—represents the bundle's differentiator. Most WNBA teams rent gym time from colleges or share space with NBA development league affiliates. The Sparks facility includes film rooms, sports science labs, and a full court branded in team colors. Walter is positioning it as turnkey infrastructure a new owner would otherwise spend two years permitting and building.
The timing reflects calculation more than desperation. The WNBA's new media deal, announced in July, will pay teams roughly $18 million annually starting in 2026, up from $3 million under the expiring contract. League revenue is projected to cross $200 million this season, driven by sellout crowds in Las Vegas, New York, and Seattle. But the Sparks finished 8-32 in 2024 and ranked 11th in attendance at 7,400 per game, below the league average of 9,200. Walter is asking a buyer to pay for the Los Angeles market and the infrastructure, not the win column.
The $700 million figure assumes a buyer values the facility at roughly $150 million to $200 million, leaving the team itself priced around $500 million to $550 million. That implies a 20x to 30x multiple on the new annual media payout alone, before ticket or sponsorship revenue. For context, the Phoenix Mercury sold in 2020 for approximately $15 million, and the Atlanta Dream changed hands in 2021 for $50 million to a group led by Larry Gottesdiener. Both deals predated the current media contract and expansion wave. Walter is betting someone will pay the premium to avoid the expansion queue, which now stretches past 2028.
The Sparks hired Curt Miller as head coach in December 2024, pairing him with general manager Raegan Pebley. The roster includes 2-time All-Star Dearica Hamby and rookie forward Rickea Jackson, the fourth overall pick in the 2024 draft. The team holds the second overall selection in the 2025 draft in April, which projects as USC's Juju Watkins if she declares. A new owner would inherit a rebuild with high-visibility draft capital and a head coach on a 4-year deal, but also a lease that runs through 2026 with AEG holding renewal leverage.
Watch for buyer signals in the family-office and tech-founder channels that circled WNBA expansion bids last fall. The Sparks sale process, if it closes, will set the comp for every subsequent legacy-franchise transaction. The league's Board of Governors must approve any sale; expect quiet vetting through Q1 2025. If Walter holds firm at $700 million, the market learns whether a WNBA team in Los Angeles with NBA-grade facilities commands private-equity entrance multiples. If he drops the price or keeps the team, expansion looks like the cheaper bet.
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