The leadership of the Los Angeles Sparks has always been fragile. Penny Toler, who served as the GM and Vice President, departed in 2019 amid various misconduct allegations towards the team managing partner and governor Eric Holoman. Eventually, the lawsuit was settled outside court but the instability doesn’t stop there. Since then, the LA Sparks had Vanessa Shay leave as president after just a year, had a season without a president and now have replaced Christine Monjer after just 2 seasons. That revolving door at the top set the stage for what came next.

The Los Angeles Sparks hired Stacy Johns as president ahead of the 2026 WNBA season, the franchise announced. Johns recently took up the role as the Bay FC CEO but is leaving the role for the LA Sparks after just three months. The principal reason for accepting this role is her past with the Los Angeles FC. 

“This opportunity brings together two things that matter deeply to me — leading an iconic franchise at a pivotal moment for women’s basketball and being back in Los Angeles with my family full-time,” said Johns in a statement. “Having been part of building something special at LAFC, I’ve seen what’s possible in this market, and I’m incredibly energized by the opportunity to help build something meaningful here — building on the Sparks’ legacy while shaping what comes next.”

This is a calculated hire from the top brass in LA. She was the Chief Business Officer for Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) and BMO Stadium and has planted major flags during her time there. Johns was pivotal in the largest naming rights deal in MLS history and the league’s first billion-dollar club valuation. Under her leadership, BMO Stadium sold a whopping 1 million tickets for three consecutive years. It became a true hub with Pollstar and Billboard labeling it as a top global touring venue.

At $1.32 million, LAFC was 2026’s second most valued MLS club per Forbes, with a 6% increase compared to 2025. Before LAFC, Johns spent 16 years with the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, where she held senior leadership roles in finance, including six years as Vice President of Finance and Human Resources. This move also has a specific agenda, according to Sports Business Journal. 

Johns is here to align the three Los Angeles teams that billionaire Mark Walter owns: the Dodgers, Lakers and Sparks. “Stacy, she’s a visionary,” said Lon Rosen (via SBJ), “and will be able to really help build the brand, the Sparks brand, which is a strong brand, but we want to keep increasing its position in the marketplace.”

According to the report, Johns will report to Rosen and Dodgers President & CEO Stan Kasten while collaborating with Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and Dodgers special advisor and assistant to the owner Farhan Zahdi. And this move had a part to play from Los Angeles legend Magic Johnson as well. The Sparks owner immediately gave his mark of approval after this announcement. 

Magic Johnson Voices Full Support as New President Leads LA Sparks Rebuild

Magic Johnson has been a part of the Sparks’ ownership since 2014. Until 2025, he and the group never earned “a dime,” and they even contemplated selling the franchise. “Should we sell this?” And we kept saying, “No, let’s hold on to it,” he said. 

And Johnson did not regret that decision after seeing the latest selling prices of WNBA teams like the Sun for $325 million (at the time). He believes in the WNBA product and now is the time to get some return on that investment. And Stacy Johns is one of the people that can get that, according to him. 

“I’m thrilled to welcome Stacy Johns home to LA as the new President of the @LA Sparks !,” he wrote. “Stacy brings nearly 25 years of experience across the NFL, MLS, and NWSL to this role. She is one of the sharpest business minds in sports and has proven she knows how to build winning organizations. We’re looking forward to her bringing that vision back to LA.”

This change and hiring of Johns makes sense if you peek behind the curtain. Despite finishing fourth in attendance last season with an average of 12,441 people entering the gates, the Sparks were “near the bottom of the WNBA with an average 2025 gate receipt of $346,000” per SBJ. They are in the mid-range of sponsorship revenue at $7.3M. 

In the Forbes valuation report released in June last year, the Sparks were 8th with a valuation of $225 million. The Sparks were absent in the 2025 survey from STN Digital and Zoomph, which measured the WNBA’s most valuable social brands. For a legacy franchise like Sparks that has won three titles and reached the playoffs more times than any other team, this is a precarious situation. 

And more importantly, this is a major growth period for the WNBA. The timing is important. The rates at which the league has grown in every metric have been astronomical. The franchise needs to capitalize, as this growth can plateau or slow down in the future.