Detroit WNBA team

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Detroit WNBA team
WNBA Detroit logo.png
League WNBA
FoundedJune 30, 2025;2 months ago (2025-06-30)
Arena Little Caesars Arena
Capacity20,332
Location Detroit, Michigan
Ownership Tom Gores
Website www.wnba.com/detroit

The Detroit WNBA team is an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. Established in 2025, the team will compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and is scheduled to begin play in 2029. The team is owned by Tom Gores, who also owns the Detroit Pistons, and will play its home games at Little Caesars Arena. The franchise will be the second WNBA team in the city's history, following the Detroit Shock.

Contents

History

The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) previously had a Detroit-based team in the Detroit Shock, a team founded in 1998 that competed until 2009 and won three league championships. [1] The team relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, after the 2009 season, becoming the Tulsa Shock, [2] which then relocated after the 2015 season to become the Dallas Wings. [3]

In January 2025, Tom Gores, owner of the NBA's Detroit Pistons, along with a group of local investors including Chris Webber, Jared Goff and Grant Hill, submitted a formal bid for Detroit to receive a WNBA expansion franchise. [4]

On June 30, Detroit was announced as one of three cities to receive new WNBA teams, along with Cleveland and Philadelphia. Cleveland is scheduled to begin play in 2028, Detroit in 2029, and Philadelphia in 2030. The Detroit team will play at Little Caesars Arena, the home of the Pistons. [1] [5]

On July 12, it was reported that the WNBA no longer owned the trademark to the "Detroit Shock" name. According to records from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the name was officially registered to Ryan Reed, owner and president of the Women's Basketball League, in February 2025. Reed stated that he was in talks about potentially relinquishing the trademark back to the WNBA. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 Sankofa II, Omari (June 30, 2025). "WNBA coming back to Detroit: Expansion franchise announced for 2029 season". Detroit Free Press . Archived from the original on July 20, 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  2. ↑ "NBA.com: WNBA's Shock will relocate to Tulsa". NBA.com. October 20, 2009. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  3. ↑ Evans, Jayda (July 23, 2015). "WNBA owners unanimously approved relocation of Tulsa Shock to Dallas-Fort Worth area". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on July 1, 2025. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  4. ↑ Sankofa II, Omari (January 31, 2025). "Tom Gores, superteam of investors submit bid to bring WNBA team back to Detroit". Detroit Free Press . Archived from the original on July 20, 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  5. ↑ Feinberg, Doug (June 30, 2025). "WNBA expanding to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia over next five years". Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 2, 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  6. ↑ Guzmán, Eric (July 12, 2025). "WNBA is returning to Detroit, but for now 'Detroit Shock' name belongs to someone else". Detroit Free Press . Archived from the original on July 16, 2025. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
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