VenuesNow 2025 All-Star Honoree: Donna Daniels

DONNA DANIELS
General Manager
Chase Center

FLIGHT OF THE VALKRYIES:
Golden State WNBA team debuted in spring

As home of the Golden State Warriors and one of San Francisco’s premier concert venues, Chase Center remains a major hub for the city, especially as it continues to recover economically from the pandemic. General

manager Donna Daniels leads the team within the venue, keeping the wheels turning and ensuring the venue can turn over in time for all of its scheduled events – including NBA Warriors games, WNBA Valkyries games and nearly every major tour that makes a Bay Area stop.

“Since its establishment in 2019, Chase Center has been dedicated to offering diverse programming to San Francisco, with a strong focus on attracting and understanding varied audiences and their needs,” Daniels says. “The past year has been particularly insightful, as we transformed the arena for three Lady Gaga shows with a Golden State Valkyries game in between and booked global artists of diverse genres like Rauw Alejandro, Keshi, Kali Uchis, Laufey and Los Tigres del Norte. Every event presents unexpected challenges, but our team’s success hinges on constant communication, real-time problem solving, and transparent post-event reviews.”

This year has marked a major change within women’s sports, with Chase Center now also becoming home to new WNBA team, the Golden State Valkyries.

“It’s no secret that women’s sports are currently undergoing a gen- erational movement, marked by unprecedented growth in viewership, attendance and fan engagement,” says Daniels, whose experience with the WNBA dates back to 1997 and who previously held a similar role at Prudential Center in New Jersey before joining the Warriors in 2022. “This is not merely a passing trend but a fundamental transformation of the sports landscape for venues. Chase Center is at the forefront

of this exciting new era with the inaugural season of the Golden State Valkyries and our very own Invisalign Women’s Bay Area Classic college basketball tournament happening in December. We are incredibly enthusiastic about the future of the WNBA and its impact on venues, as we strive to inspire a new generation of fans and athletes.”