WNBA Expanding to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia Over Next 5 Years

The WNBA is expanding to 18 teams over the next five years, with Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia joined in the league by 2030.

Cleveland will begin in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in the season, assuming that you will receive approval by the Governor Council of NBA and the WNBA. Toronto and Portland will enter the league next year.

“The demand for women’s basketball was never higher, and we are happy to welcome Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia in the WNBA family,” said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “This historical expansion is a strong reflection of the extraordinary dynamics of our league, the depth of the talent throughout the game and the increasing demand for investments in the professional basketball of women.”

All three new teams canceled NBA owner groups on Monday. Everyone paid an expansion fee of 250 million US dollars, which is about five times as much as Golden State for a team a few years ago. All three teams will also invest more money through the construction of practice and other amenities.

“It is so natural that these strategies, cultures that you find as successful, combinations of personnel who find you successful if you already have these basketball -related infrastructure when you are successful,” said Nic Barlage, CEO of Rock Entertainment Group and The Cavaliers. “Extending this into the WNBA is only a natural next progression, especially if you have the desire to grow as we do.”

Both Cleveland and Detroit had WNBA teams and Philadelphia in the past was the home for a ABS team.

“This is a great victory for Detroit and the WNBA,” said Tom Gores, owner of Detroit Piston’s. “Today, the boring return of the WNBA to a city with deep basketball roots and a championship tradition. Detroit played a key role for the early growth of the league, and we are proud to rise this heir as a WNBA to new heights. Our plans will be new energy, investments and infrastructures in our city and the WNBA and additional resources in Bring community. “

The Detroit shock was one of the first expansion franchise companies of the WNBA and won three titles before moving to Tulsa in 2010. The franchise is now in Dallas. (Photo by Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images)

The Detroit Sports Stars Grant Hill, Chris Webber and Jared Goff will have minority ownerships in the team.

The owners’ groups of Cleveland and Detroit said that the rockers and the shock – the names of the previous teams – would be taken into account, but they would do their Due Diligence before deciding what the franchise companies are called.

“Rockers will certainly be part of the mix, but we are at this point that we will not commit ourselves to a brand identity because we really want to get involved with our fans, research something, be very thorough and thoughtful in this process,” said Barlage.

The Detroit and Cleveland teams play in the currently existing NBA arenas, while Philadelphia is planning a new building that will hopefully be completed by 2030.

“We tell the city that it will be opened in 2031. We hope for 2030,” said Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Managing Partner and co -founder Josh Harris, who has the 76. “So we try to contaminate and beyful. But at the moment it is 2031 so that we have an annual gap, you know. We have the XFinity Center, the Wells Fargo, you will play there.”

The league with another team on the east coast and Detroit and Cleveland near each other gives the league more natural rivalries.

“I think there are some great historical rivals in the NBA in these cities, and I think that will be transferred to the WNBA,” said Detroit Piston’s Vice President Arn Tellem. “I would not love anything anymore to have a rivalry like in the NBA with Cleveland and Indiana, Philadelphia and New York and all these great cities, and I think we’ll do it.”

Other cities that offer teams that they have not received are St. Louis; Kansas City, Mo.; Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; Houston; Miami; Denver; and Charlotte, NC

“We didn’t know that the demand would be where the demand ended when we carried out the process last autumn in the winter,” said Engelbert. “In view of the very high demand and the very high offer, we also wanted to evaluate because we are very careful when we make sure that we reconcile the number of duty roster spaces, the number of teams.

“But one thing that I am very impressed when we go into a new media business while the media market is developing.

All metrics such as presence, television ratings and sponsorship were on the rise in the last seasons.

“You see the most important performance indicators around the business, but only the municipal effects of a women’s professional sports team,” said Barlage. “The largest growing segment of our Cavs Youth Academy, which serves 60,000 children in the state of Ohio and in the state of New York. The fastest growing segment is girl. You know that it grows with a 30% clip year -Bahr.

Reporting by the Associated Press.

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