New WNBA teams in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia announced
Napheesa Collier, the 24th of Minnesota Lynx’s number 24, is throwing a game against New York Liberty in the 1st game of the 2024 WNBA Finals in Barclays Center in New York on October 10, 2024.
Nathaniel S. Butler | National Basketball Association | Getty Images
WNBA announced on Monday that Cleveland has given three new expansion teams to Detroit and Philadelphia and that the league has increased the league to 18 teams in the next five years.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said “a really monumental day.”
“These are proud cities with strong sports heritage, each rich in basketball tradition,” he said. “This is a brave step because we’re raising our footprint.”
The league currently has 13 teams, the franchises in Toronto and Portland will participate in 2026.
The Cleveland team will start to play in 2028, then will watch Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030. Each team will pay $ 250 million franchise fees to participate in the league, according to a person who is familiar with the conditions speaking to discuss non -anonymous details. These fees would represent a historical summit for WNBA.
The league has been looking at the expansion process for more than two years. Kansas City, St. Louis, Austin, Houston, Miami, Denver and Charlotte, including North Carolina, including more than a dozen cities.
On Monday, the league said that each position was chosen after analyzing market applicability, infrastructure and local support. Engelbert said Houston, in particular, the league will continue to put his eye for future expansions.
“Today, Cleveland’s sporting history is a transformative day,” Cleveland’s sporty history, “Nica’s CEO, Cleveland Cavaliers and other professional sports teams in the city. He said.
This would not have Cleveland’s first pressure on professional women’s basketball. The city hosted one of WNBA’s original franchises, Cleveland Rockers, from 1997 to 2003. This team, the owner of the team as Gordon Gund, endured after seven seasons, and he participated in low and said he could not find a way. Make the team snowy.
Detroit WNBA ownership group is managed by the owners of Detroit Pistons Tom and Holly Goras.
“This is a big gain for our city,” Detroit Pistons Basketball Franchise Vice President Arn Tellem said. “Much larger than basketball.”
The Detroit team will roughly return women’s basketball to the city after a two -year hiatus. Detroit Shock played from 1998 to 2009, won three championships, and Tulsa broke a record to participate before moving to Oklahoma.
The Philadelphia team will belong to Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, owner of Philadelphia 76ers, including Josh Harris, David Blitzer and David Adelman. Comcast The minority shares in the team.
HBSE’s founding partner and executive partner, Harris said that bringing WNBA to the city is not just a good thing, it is a obligation. “
Description: ComCast is the owner of NBCuniversal, the main company of CNBC.
