But Houston could be next in line, and soon.
The WNBA is preparing to award Cleveland its 16th franchise, multiple sources have told SBJ, with an approximate bid worth a league record $250M.
The sources put Cleveland’s expansion chances as high as 90% — with an announcement expected no later than March — and said the WNBA has re-thought its original plan of adding just one team and could award one or two more franchises to bring its league total to 18 clubs. The presumed leaders for the second and third teams are Philadelphia, Houston, Nashville, Detroit and Miami, with the league reiterating tonight that nothing is finalized.
“The WNBA has received formal bids from many interested ownership groups in various markets and we are currently in the process of evaluating these proposals,” a WNBA spokesperson said in a statement.
Cleveland is expected to join the league for the 2028 season playing at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. They will be reprised as the Cleveland Rockers, an original WNBA franchise that folded after the 2003 season when former owner Gordon Gund could not sell the team due to tumbling revenue and erratic attendance. But in the two decades since, the league’s exponential growth and popularity has led to rising expansion fees. The Golden State Valkyries, the league’s 13th franchise launching in May, paid $50M to join the WNBA, while Toronto and Portland — the 14th and 15th franchises — paid $115M and $125M, respectively. Now that has doubled.
As recent as two weeks ago, the WNBA applied to trademark the name Rockers, as well as the names of three other former franchises: the Houston Comets, the Detroit Shock, the Miami Sol and the Charlotte Sting — all clues to who could be in the running for the 17th and 18th teams, but not a complete giveaway.
Sources said Houston “is probably the most positioned” for the 17th team largely because the Rockets recently built a 75,000 square-foot practice facility, owner Tilman Fertitta is reportedly worth more than $10B and they have an NBA infrastructure that is appealing to the league.
“The Comets are also an amazing brand, and it’s stunning they even left the league,” said a source, referencing the four-time champion Comets folding in 2008 due to $4M annual losses.
Philadelphia is likely another clear frontrunner, sources said, and indications are that when 76ers owner Josh Harris partnered with Comcast on a new arena in South Philadelphia, the priority was to house a WNBA team along with the Sixers and Flyers.
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As to why the WNBA is willing to take on potentially three teams instead of one right now — with the last two likely arriving in 2029 or 2030 — the sense is that there have been multiple bids approaching $250M.
“How do you walk away from three quarters of a billion dollars?’’ one source said.
See here, here, and here for some background. Tough break for Austin, which put together a pretty good bid, but I don’t think the WNBA is going to stop at 18. They may pause for a bit, but as long as the demand is there, they will keep going. The talent pool is more than adequate.
As for why the Comets folded in 2008, other than that being a bad year for the economy, the team had been mediocre for several years, the sale of the team from the Rockets to second-tier furniture guy Hilton Koch was a disaster, and the league was going through some growing pains, as evidenced by the folding or relocation of several other original franchises. It’s a different time and both the league and the sport are in a better place. Yahoo, Sports Illustrated, KVUE, and the Chron have more.