WNBA awards Atlanta WNBA franchise for '08 season

The WNBA will announce Wednesday that it has awarded a franchise to Atlanta, a person familiar with the deal said Tuesday.

Atlanta real estate executive Ron Terwilliger will be the sole owner of the team, which will begin play in 2008, according to the person familiar with the deal, who requested anonymity because the new franchise hasn't been officially announced yet.

Atlanta City Council president Lisa Borders, one of the leaders of the committee which organized the effort, is expected to attend Wednesday's news conference along with Terwilliger.

Borders and WNBA president Donna Orender did not immediately return messages on Tuesday.

The WNBA's Charlotte franchise was disbanded following the 2006 season, leaving the league without a team in the Southeast.

Orender also had expansion talks with groups in the San Francisco area, Kansas City, Albuquerque, N.M., Colorado, Philadelphia and Atlantic City.