SACRAMENTO and NEW YORK – A Dispersal Draft involving Sacramento Monarchs players will take place Monday, Dec. 14, WNBA President Donna Orender announced today.  Orender also announced the league will seek to add a team to the Bay Area for the 2011 season.

“A number of potential investors have come forward and expressed interest in relocating the Monarchs to the Bay Area, a market that we continue to see as desirable,” said Orender.  “Ultimately, we made the judgment that we would not be able to complete a transaction in time for a successful new-market launch in 2010. We will therefore focus our energy on adding a team in the Bay Area for the 2011 campaign.”

Having concluded its 13^th season in 2009 with a third consecutive season of increased attendance and a second straight year of increased viewership on ESPN2, the WNBA will play the 2010 season with 12 teams.

Monarchs’ season ticket holders will be notified in the near future of a procedure for refunds.

Current Monarchs players, with the exception of unrestricted free agents Kara Lawson, Hamchetou Maiga-Ba and Ticha Penicheiro, are eligible to be selected in the Dispersal Draft.  The order of selection, based on the inverse order of 2009 regular season finish, will be as follows:

• New York
• Minnesota
• Connecticut
• Chicago
• San Antonio
• Washington
• Tulsa
• Los Angeles
• Atlanta
• Seattle
• Indiana
• Phoenix