WNBA to expand by 3 teams by 2030
The WNBA has been on a meteoric rise over the past few years. A new generation of players, led by Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, have fueled a new level of excitement about women's basketball. The league made a major announcement on Monday about accelerating their expansion efforts.
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The WNBA is expanding to 18 teams over the next five years, per Doug Feinberg of The Associated Press. There will be new expansion franchises in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia.
'The demand for women's basketball has never been higher, and we are thrilled to welcome Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia to the WNBA family,' WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. '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.'
Cleveland will join the W in 2028, making it the 16th franchise in the league. Detroit will join 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030. The WNBA is also set to welcome both Toronto and Portland into the league for the 2026 season.
Each team paid a $250 million expansion fee. That is five times as much as the Golden State Valkyries paid just a few years ago.
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Detroit and Cleveland will play at the NBA arenas that currently exist in each city. Philadelphia is planning on a new building that will be completed by 2030.
Other cities that bid on teams include St. Louis, Kansas City, Austin, Nashville, Houston, Miami, Denver, and Charlotte.
Does this mean that the Cleveland Rockers, Detroit Shock are returning to the WNBA?
D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
All three of the W's new cities have a history with women's basketball.
Both Cleveland and Detroit were once part of the WNBA in the 2000s. The ownership groups for both expansion teams said that the Rockers and Shock would be considered as the names of the new teams. However, they also noted that they would do their due diligence before deciding on what to call the new expansion franchises.
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'Rockers will be a part of the mix for sure, but we are at this point, we're not going to commit to a brand identity because we want to really get into it with our fans, do some research, be very thorough and thoughtful in that process,' Nic Barlage, CEO of Rock Entertainment Group and the Cavaliers, said.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia had a team in the American Basketball League, which played between 1996-98.
The WNBA is hopeful that this new collection of east coast teams will create more natural rivalries with on another.
'I think there's some great historical rivalries in the NBA among these cities and, I think that will carry over to the WNBA,' Detroit Pistons vice president Arn Tellem said. 'I would love nothing more to have a rivalry like we do in the NBA with Cleveland and Indiana, Philadelphia and New York and all these great cities and, and I think we will.'
The next handful of year will be very exciting for the WNBA.
Related: Napheesa Collier, others call out WNBA officiating
Related: DeWanna Bonner's cryptic message hints at reason for Fever breakup
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