Good point. The WNBA losses must offset their other profits. Also, these owners often have other sports teams and business ventures to write losses off against.

So, maybe the WNBA should be thought of as a charity.

I will say that with NBA owners owning the WNBA teams there has gotta be a tax write off they are getting as well lmao

Cje95

BlokchainB

Stacker_Sports

WNBA to add Cleveland, Detroit, Philly by 2030

Good question. 
1. It makes sense to continue operating an unprofitable venture, as long as marginal revenue > marginal costs. The arenas are largely fixed costs that the WNBA could never hope to pay for, but someone did already pay for them, so it might make sense to let the ladies play on them. 
2. They’re willing to take the losses now because they expect it to become profitable later. 
3. It’s a eugenics program to help produce better NBA players later. 