Seattle Storm happy to have permanent home again

SEATTLE (AP) — For the past three seasons, a piece of the Seattle Storm’s identity was absent even as it remained among the elite teams in the WNBA.

Seattle was missing a permanent home.

The Storm spent the 2020 season playing in a bubble due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and they spent the 2019 and 2021 seasons bouncing between venues in the Puget Sound region while their arena was rebuilt, robbing them of the element that made coming to Seattle one of the more challenging road trips for opponents.

That changes Friday night when the Storm open the WNBA season against Minnesota. They’re back in the heart of the city, making their regular-season debut at Climate Pledge Arena, also the home of the NHL's Kraken.

"Knowing that the city of Seattle is really so excited to have us be back, be back in Seattle Center and be back in the heart of

Seattle playing and know they can’t wait for me to be back out there as well,” Seattle’s Breanna Stewart said.

There’s plenty of story lines that will follow the Storm this season, from the possibility that it will Sue Bird’s final year, to Stewart’s return from a foot injury that caused her to miss the end of last season.

But for the Storm, finding stability is of major importance.

The Storm spent three seasons without a true place to call home while

Climate Pledge Arena was under construction. They split the 2019 season between the University of Washington and Angel of the Winds Arena, 30 miles north of Seattle in Everett, Washington.

The 2020 season — when Seattle won its fourth title — was played in the WNBA bubble in Florida due to the pandemic. The pandemic also led to construction delays that left their new home just enough behind schedule that the Storm had to play one more season in Everett.