The Sky have another new timeline for completion of their practice facility in Bedford Park: this time it’s November.
That means they will not move in this season, as co-owner Nadia Rawlinson and CEO Adam Fox previously said they would. Instead, the Sky will practice at Wintrust Arena for the remainder of the season.
“It’s disappointing,” center Elizabeth Williams, who is also secretary of the players’ union, told the Sun-Times. “I think on their end it is as well because they had expectations for us and brought us in with those expectations as well. On their end, not being able to get that done sucks.”
Point guard Courtney Vandersloot echoed that sentiment last week.
“We’re all frustrated that it isn’t on time,” she said. “That’s from the very top all the way down. We wish we were in there. But I know that they’re doing it the right way, and it’s going to be a perfect home for us.”
Players were informed Thursday that they would not move into the facility this season, and general manager Jeff Pagliocca broke the news to reporters Friday. He cited construction challenges, including supply-chain and material delays. The project previously was delayed by weather and an expansion of the plans.
Pagliocca said the facility could be operational before the season ends, but the team decided it did not make sense to move into the building while construction was still ongoing.
“It mattered a lot to me that we gave the experience Day 1, not just components of it,” Pagliocca said. “When the wow factor hits, we want it to hit.”
The expectation now is that the facility will be available for offseason workouts — an important window for players who remain in-market and for the next free-agency cycle.
But each missed timeline makes the next one harder to believe. The delays hurt the Sky’s reputation around the league and erode trust with their own players.
Veteran point guard Skylar Diggins expressed frustration last week that the team did not have everything it needed to be successful.
“I was thinking we were going to be in a practice facility, and other things that were told to me,” she said. “And that’s not been the case. There’s been things outside of people’s control that I understand, too, a lot of moving parts. Lots of places I’ve been were in that process as well, so I get it. But it’s hard to perform at a certain level without those [resources].”
The Sky began the season practicing at UIC, then moved to Loyola before shifting practices to their home arena.
Williams said there are at least some advantages to practicing where the Sky play their home games. Wintrust Arena also has a number of recovery resources available, including hot and cold tubs, a training room and a weight room.
Still, it’s another missed timeline for a facility players were told they would use this season.