CNN
—
The WNBA announced on Monday that Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia will be getting expansion franchises in the coming years.
The new team in Cleveland will begin play in 2028, with Detroit following in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030.
The league said in a statement that the addition of the three teams “marks a significant milestone in the WNBA’s commitment to growing the game, increasing opportunities for players, and bringing professional women’s basketball to new and passionate fanbases in more cities.”
“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 in a statement.
“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. … We are excited for what these cities will bring to the league – and are confident that these new teams will reshape the landscape of women’s basketball.”
According to the league, Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia were chosen based on “analysis of market viability, committed long-term ownership groups, potential for significant local fan, corporate, media, and city and state support, arena and practice facilities, and community commitment to advancing the sport, among other factors.”
The three teams will bring the total number of WNBA franchises to 18 by the time the Philadelphia team joins, after teams in Portland and Toronto were revealed in 2024. Both Portland and Toronto will begin playing in 2026.
The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA’s newest team, began their debut season this year and are competitive in year one, sporting a 9-7 record in the Western Conference and currently holding the league’s No. 6 seed.
Women’s professional basketball will return to Cleveland for the first time since 2003 when the city’s last WNBA team, the Rockers, folded after having been one of the league’s original founding eight teams.
For Detroit, the WNBA will also make a long-awaited return after the Shock – who played in the Motor City between 1998 and 2009, won three championships and set a single-game attendance record of 22,076 at Game 3 of the 2003 WNBA Finals – moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, before ultimately moving to Dallas and rebranding to the Wings.
The WNBA will be debuting in the City of Brotherly Love and will be owned by the same leadership group which runs the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers.
The WNBA is in its 29th season and has seen remarkable growth of late.
According to research by Sportico, the current 13 franchises that make up the league increased in value by an average of 180% over the last year which is more than “double the previous biggest year-over-year gain for a major sports league.”
The teams are collectively worth $3.5 billion and on average, each franchise is worth $269 million, vastly more than the $96 million the average team was worth in 2024. The previous biggest year gain was seen in the NBA in 2014 after Steve Ballmer bought the Los Angeles Clippers.
TV ratings, merchandise sales, attendance and revenue increases over the last 12 months have led to the explosion of valuation for WNBA teams, per Sportico.
