Phoenix Mercury to open new practice facility, name courts after Diana Taurasi
Jul 12, 2024, 12:34 PM | Updated: Jul 13, 2024, 8:20 am
(Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Mercury will honor current star Diana Taurasi with two basketball courts at its new practice facility.
Phoenix will dedicate the facility and host a grand opening on Thursday ahead of WNBA All-Star weekend in Phoenix.
The 58,000-square-foot new home for the Mercury will cost $100 million and is located blocks from Footprint Center, the team’s shared home with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. It is part of a larger project that saw the Suns move their business offices out of their home arena and into the nearby location in downtown Phoenix.
The pair of full-sized courts in the Mercury’s wing of the facility will include a “one-of-a-kind Taurasi-inspired logo” and each be named Diana Taurasi Court.
“This is going to be state of the art, first class, and the why behind it is we want to invest in our team,” Mercury owner Mat Ishbia told ESPN. “We believe in our sport, we believe in the WNBA and we believe in the Phoenix Mercury. We are putting our money, our effort and our love behind it.
“The Valley loves basketball … we have two great teams doing great things in Phoenix.”
WNBA All-Star weekend will include a skills challenge and three-point contest Friday at 6 p.m. MST before the Olympic team’s roster faces the WNBA All-Stars at 5:30 p.m. MST Saturday.
Taurasi and Mercury teammates Brittney Griner and Kahleah Copper will represent the national team in front of the home crowd at Footprint Center.