The latest on the WNBA expansion tale has Detroit on the bench. Sports Business Journal reports that the league's next franchise will likely be Cleveland's Rockers, who are set to join in the 2028 season. Despite a star-studded investment group backing Detroit's bid, including Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores and sports luminaries like Lions quarterback Jared Goff and the distinguished former Pistons Grant Hill and Chris Webber, they were outbid by an offer for Cleveland reportedly worth north of $250 million, a new high watermark for WNBA team sales. "The sources put Cleveland's expansion chances as high as 90% — with an announcement expected no later than March," WOODTV cited in their report.
The WNBA is keen to quickly add up to 18 teams to the league, leaving Detroit as a strong contender for a future franchise, per MLive's coverage. For now, the city nods to Philadelphia, Houston, Nashville, and Miami as partners in the waiting game for expansion team 17 or 18. Detroit's proposal envisions the new team playing out of Little Caesars Arena, where memories of the Shock's prior glory from 1998-2009 - including three championships - still reverberate with fans.
Cleveland's lead in the WNBA expansion stakes doesn't just spell a new beginning for them but a revival. The expected new franchise will resurrect the Cleveland Rockers, a name which harks back to an original WNBA team that folded back in 2003, as ClickOnDetroit reflects on.
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