The Los Angeles Sparks will play their home opener today at Staples Center against the Seattle Storm, celebrating Los Angeles’ sports legends.
The 2 p.m. game will mark the debuts of the WNBA team’s new hip-hop dance crew and in-arena hosts. The Sparks will also be wearing new jerseys.
And the team will debut a new video played before the start of the players’ introductions. It will be accompanied today by a live performance by the Grammy-nominated rhythm and blues singer and actress Antonique Smith.
In addition, the Sparks will hold their first Adoptee Day today, seeking to raise awareness about the adoption and foster care community. A group sales effort was held with a portion of the price of each ticket sold going to the Mixed Roots Foundation, which provides post-adoption resources for adoptees and their families.
The Sparks have a new coach, Brian Agler, the winningest coach in women’s professional basketball history with a combined 262 victories in the WNBA and defunct American Basketball League.
Agler succeeds Carol Ross, who was fired 22 games into the 2014 season. General manager Penny Toler served as interim coach the final 12 regular-season games and during the Sparks two games to none loss to the Phoenix Mercury in the Western Conference semifinals.
Agler coached Seattle from 2008-2014, guiding the Storm to playoff berths each of his first six seasons and the league championship in 2010 when he was chosen as coach of the year.
The Sparks’ 10-player roster consists of four returning players and six newcomers, including three rookies.
The team has not played since opening the season with an 86-61 loss at Seattle June 6. The Storm are 1-2, losing to the Tulsa Shock, 68-45, Tuesday and Minnesota Lynx, 94-70, Thursday, both on the road.
The team’s marketing campaign has the theme, “#WeAre.”
The Sparks will seek to break the WNBA attendance record of 22,076 at the Aug. 30 game against the San Antonio Stars, which they have dubbed the “#WeAreWomen” game.
A festival outside Staples Center will precede the game, featuring musical performances, speakers and vendors focusing on the themes, “#WeAreStrong #WeAre Women #WeAreLA.”
