WNBA expands with 3 new teams in Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia
The WNBA has announced three new expansion teams coming to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia over the next five years.
"The demand for women's basketball has never been higher, and we are thrilled to welcome Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia to the WNBA family," WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Monday. "This historic expansion is a powerful reflection of our league's extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game, and the surging demand for investment in women's professional basketball."
What to know about new WNBA expansion teams
Play in Cleveland will begin in 2028, followed by Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030, pending approvals from the NBA and WNBA Board of Governors.
Each of the three new teams have NBA ownership groups, with Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert at the helm of the franchise in Ohio, where the WNBA formerly had the Cleveland Rockers, which folded after the 2003 season.
"It's such a natural fit that when you already have this basketball-related infrastructure, these strategies, cultures that you find to be successful, combinations of personnel that you find to be successful," said Nic Barlage, CEO of Rock Entertainment Group and the Cleveland Cavaliers. "Extending that into the WNBA is just a natural next progression, especially if you have a desire to grow like we do."
Tom Gores, owner of the Detroit Pistons, is among the new Detroit team ownership, along with Detroit sports stars Grant Hill, Chris Webber and Jared Goff, who will have minority stakes in the team.
The Detroit Shock was the city's WNBA team from 1998 to 2009 before it relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and eventually became the Dallas Wings.
All three teams paid a $250 million expansion fee, per the AP, which is nearly five times as much as the Golden State Warriors shelled out to secure the Golden State Valkyries in 2023.
The teams will also invest more money through building practice facilities and other amenities, the AP reported.
Philadelphia, which has never had a WNBA team, is owned by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment co-founder Josh Harris, who currently owns the Philadelphia 76ers.
"We tell the city it's going to open in 2031. We're hoping for 2030," Harris said Monday. "We're trying to underpromise and overdeliver. But right now it's 2031 so that we have a year gap, you know. We've got the Xfinity center, the Wells Fargo [Center], they'll play there."
While no team names have been decided or announced, the Cleveland and Detroit ownership teams said Rockers and Shock, respectively, would be in consideration, pending further research and input from fans.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
