{"id":6260,"date":"2026-08-04T04:37:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T04:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6260"},"modified":"2026-08-04T04:37:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T04:37:21","slug":"the-blue-is-stupid-new-valkyries-court-design-draws-divided-reaction-from-team-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6260","title":{"rendered":"‘The blue is stupid’: New Valkyries court design draws divided reaction from team, fans"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 There was something different about Ballhalla on Sunday night.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Valkyries unveiled a different Chase Center court design ahead of their 96-79 win over the Toronto Tempo, setting a new bar for brand integration. Not everyone was a fan of the new de<\/span>sign, though.<\/p>\n

Read more San Jose pedestrian killed in suspected DUI hit-and-run, driver arrested<\/a><\/p>\n

Golden State\u2019s new floor is bright blue \u2013 decidedly not a Valkyries team color \u2013 and features clear Chase Bank branding throughout. A blue gradient and \u201cFreedom motif\u201d named after the credit card bearing the same name adorn the court, replacing the traditional violet hue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fan reaction on social media has been near-universally negative, noting the stark contrast between the new hue and the traditional violet floor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the arena, the reaction was mixed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe blue is stupid,\u201d fan Ellen Robinson said matter-of-factly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Multiple fans noted the contrast between the shade of blue chosen and the violet \u201cGSV\u201d in the middle of the court, namely that they did not match.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tempo coach Sandy Brondello seemed puzzled by the absence of violet.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s blue. They\u2019re purple,\u201d Brondello mused. \u201cThat\u2019s OK. Blue and purple go together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In a release, the Valkyries said the new hardwood is the team\u2019s \u201cfirst-ever custom court and the only co-branded partner court to be revealed in the WNBA this season thus far. The court brings the partnership with Chase Freedom to life beyond the jersey, celebrating the fan energy driving the growth of women\u2019s basketball.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The new floor will be in use for both games against Toronto this week, with the second taking place on Tuesday night.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a post announcing the court change on Instagram, the Valkyries said that Chase Freedom is offering fans 20% off at the Golden State Shop and will donate $1,000 to the Golden State Community Foundation for every shot made during the two games.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The charitable aspect drew praise from some fans, as well as Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase and guard Veronica Burton.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little different from the normal colors,\u201d said fan Chris Akings. \u201cBut to see that every shot, basically, this is happening because of the donation, I think that\u2019s pretty cool that they could do that. It\u2019s for a great cause.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Special election runoff for Swalwell\u2019s seat pits Wahab against Hernandez<\/a><\/p>\n

Nakase was effusive in her praise and highlighted the charitable aspect unprompted during her pregame press conference.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI love it. I think it\u2019s beautiful,\u201d she said. \u201cI also think change is also good for players because it just gives them a different feel. I don\u2019t know for sure how the fans have been responding, but it\u2019s beautiful. We\u2019re playing for something bigger than ourselves. If we can do both at the same time, I think that\u2019s an amazing opportunity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One thing several fans had in common? They wanted the purple back soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we lose, they better jettison that court really fast,\u201d Robinson said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018I love who we have\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When the WNBA trade deadline passed Sunday at noon, it was official \u2013 there would be no additions or subtractions to the Valkyries\u2019 roster.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That was just fine with Burton, who has embodied Golden State\u2019s desired culture from the beginning and was pleased to see the same group remain in place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not my job, so at the end of the day, I don\u2019t really think about that,\u201d Burton told the Bay Area News Group. \u201cI love who we have here, so I\u2019m happy. That\u2019s been the same the whole time, that feeling, that love for each other. So we don\u2019t really pay much attention to what\u2019s going on outside our locker room, and I think that\u2019s refreshing about us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nakase was visibly on board with keeping things the same, noting how much she was grinning while discussing her team.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo you see the smile on my face? Am I happy?\u201d she asked rhetorically. \u201cYeah. Look, we haven\u2019t reached our peak yet, right? We haven\u2019t maximized where we are yet on so many levels. And then my response definitely has been strength in numbers. It\u2019s something that we took to heart because of what happened in the playoffs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo as we continue to build in the right direction, Ohemma (Nyanin) has done an elite job of the moves and the decisions she made in the offseason and what she was able to construct. And so as we work in tandem, she\u2019s my partner in crime. We continue to build, but we continue to push each other to make sure we\u2019re going to be elite at all levels.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Subscribe to our special Valkyries newsletter for game analysis, scores, and everything you want to know about the team from Ballhalla.<\/p>\n

Read more 49ers\u2019 Ji\u2019Ayir Brown praises Raheem Morris\u2019 defense, pans past schemes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Golden State Valkyries’ new blue Chase-branded court got strong reactions from fans in Ballhalla as well as Veronica Burton and coach Natalie Nakase<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n‘The blue is stupid’: New Valkyries court design draws divided reaction from team, fans - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6260\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"‘The blue is stupid’: New Valkyries court design draws divided reaction from team, fans - 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