News agency2 minutes to read
NEW YORK — With thunderstorms blanketing the Northeast once again, the Seattle Storm had to change their travel plans to fly from New York to Washington for their game against the Mystics on Tuesday.
Seattle originally planned to fly to Washington on Sunday, but when the operations crew arrived at the airport before the rest of the team, they heard the flight was canceled due to incoming storms in the area.
The next direct flight the team could have that would be able to seat 24 people was on Wednesday – the day after the game. There were also limited seats available on Amtrak trains bound for Washington following the holiday week.
After checking with the bus company that a driver would be allowed to take the team to Washington, the Storm picked up its staff at LaGuardia Airport and headed south for the potentially five-hour trip to DC. The trip to Washington usually takes about an hour.
It’s already been a busy travel week for Storm. They flew into Boston from Seattle on Tuesday and drove two hours to the Mohegan Sun. Seattle practiced Wednesday and then played Connecticut State on Thursday.
After losing by 20 points to the Sun, the team made the more than three-hour drive Friday to New York to prepare for its game against Liberty. The Storm were more competitive in that game, falling to New York 80-76 on Saturday afternoon.
Plays Seattle in Washington, then travels to Atlanta on Wednesday for the team’s only back-to-back games this season. The WNBA added charter flights to the teams this year for the second half of consecutive trips. Teams fly commercially for other games. The league said it would cost about $2 million to hire the team for the entire season.
Washington was playing Connecticut on Sunday and her flight home was still listed on time, according to a team official.
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