[Déjà Bru]

Excitement popped into my head when I read this headline:


It is from The Athletic, so I will reproduce it here in my usual fashion:

WNBA announces record expansion to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia

By Ben Pickman

NEW YORK — The WNBA has granted expansion teams to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia, growing to a league-record 18 franchises. Cleveland will begin play in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has expressed for more than a year a desire to expand the league to at least 16 teams, saying there are “10 to 12 cities that are very viable.” The Golden State Valkyries began their inaugural season this year, and Toronto and Portland are launching teams in 2026. The league previously peaked in 2002 at 16 teams, including former franchises in Detroit and Cleveland.

“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,” Engelbert said in a statement Monday.

A league source told The Athletic that the teams paid a historic $250 million in expansion fees. The expansion decisions are subject to WNBA and NBA Boards of Governors approval.

“Today’s expansion news reinforces what players, fans, and countless metrics have already proven: the WNBA is thriving and a great investment,” the Women’s National Basketball Player’s Association said in a statement. “As the league grows, it’s essential we secure a CBA (collective bargaining agreement) that ensures players fully share in the success they drive.”

Cleveland’s team will be led by Dan Gilbert, owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, and Rock Entertainment Group. The franchise will play at Rocket Arena, where the Cavs play downtown.

The Cleveland Rockers played in the league from the WNBA’s inaugural 1997 season until 2003. It folded under then-owner Gordon Gund, who also previously owned the Cavaliers. Cleveland ranked 10th out of 14 teams in WNBA attendance during its final season in 2003, and did not turn a profit in any of its seven seasons, Gund said at the time. But much has changed around the league.

“We’re confident that this team will honor our city’s women’s sports heritage, reinvigorate our WNBA fan base and help cultivate the next generation of women’s basketball enthusiasts and athletes,” Gilbert said in a statement.

The WNBA is returning to Detroit, too. Tom Gores, owner of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, is leading the group for the city’s expansion franchise. NBA Hall of Famers Grant Hill and Chris Webber, as well as Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp and quarterback Jared Goff, are also part of the ownership group. The new WNBA team will play at Little Caesars Arena, the home of the Pistons, and will construct a dedicated WNBA practice facility.

Detroit’s original team existed from the league’s second season in 1998 until 2009. The Shock won three WNBA titles (2003, 2006 and 2008) and eventually relocated to Tulsa, Okla., after the 2009 season.

“Today marks the long-hoped-for return of the WNBA to a city with deep basketball roots and a championship tradition,” Gores said in a statement. “Detroit played a key role in the league’s early growth, and we’re proud to reignite that legacy as the WNBA ascends to new heights. Our plans will bring new energy, investment and infrastructure to our city and the WNBA, and additional resources to our community.”

Philadelphia will be a new market for the WNBA, though it did once have an ABL team. The ownership group behind the Philadelphia 76ers, Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, will lead the team. In January, the Sixers announced their goal to bring a team to the city, and the franchise plans to compete in a new building that will potentially be completed by 2030.

“Philadelphia is one of the most storied basketball cities in the world, and our region is home to some of the best women’s players and coaches to ever grace the hardwood,” said Josh Harris, co-founder of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment. “It’s only right that this city gets the WNBA team it deserves, and we’re humbled to help usher in a new era of Philadelphia basketball.”

The WNBA is currently in a period of significant growth, not just after expanding this season for the first time since 2008, but also in setting records in key metrics like television ratings, merchandise sales and attendance.

All three expansion teams were part of a group of more than 10 cities that submitted expansion bids by the January deadline. Groups from Nashville, Kansas City, Houston and Charlotte were among the bidding cities that did not receive teams.

News of the three-team expansion comes amid a turbulent period for one of the league’s other incoming expansion teams. Last week, Portland WNBA announced it was parting ways with its initial team president Inky Son, and that Clare Hamill, a longtime Nike executive, would immediately assume the role as its interim president. Portland has not yet unveiled its name and branding, though that announcement is expected to come July 15.

So is the WNBA on the rise? Surely. I, for one, will be seeking opportunities for viewing WNBA games and not just as part of my "anti-Balkanization of sports viewing" campaign. The level of play quality is there, the professionalism is there, the confidence is there, the momentum is there, the excitement is there, so the interest is there as well.