Report: Chicago expected to host WNBA All-Star Game

Courtney Vandersloot is introduced before Game 3 of the WNBA Finals in front of a sold-out Chicago crowd. (Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)

Chicago is expected to host its first WNBA All-Star Game this July, according to a report from the Chicago Sun-Times.

Chicago it is! ⬇️ https://t.co/7ybkoBIX7Q
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) April 8, 2022

According to the league’s website, the game is scheduled for July 10 and will be played at Wintrust Arena, the home of the Chicago Sky. Details are still being finalized ahead of the league officially announcing the game’s location.

Additionally, venues are already planning parties and events around the game, but sources told the Sun-Times that they are staying quiet about details until the game is announced by the league.

Chicago will be hosting the game for the first time. New York hosted the debut All-Star festivities in 1999; Lisa Leslie was crowned MVP of that game. New York has played host twice since then, while Connecticut has hosted four times. Las Vegas hosted the most recent games in 2019 and 2021.

The Sky have not yet had an All-Star MVP. Candace Parker has been crowned once with the Sparks in 2013. Last year’s All-Star game featured Sky players Parker, Courtney Vandersloot and Kahleah Copper, while Allie Quigley won the three-point contest.

If played on July 10 as planned, the game falls on the same day that the Nike Girls Elite Youth Basketball League Nationals is scheduled to begin, also in Chicago.