Basketball is hot in Cleveland, and Rock Entertainment Group just launched its official bid to bring a WNBA franchise back to the city. The league is looking to add a 16th team by the 2028 season. There are numerous cities that have made bids for this spot.
Dan Gilbert owns Rock Entertainment Group and the Cavaliers. The umbrella company oversees the Cavs, who are off to a 15-1 start this season; Cleveland Monsters; Cleveland Charge; and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
“We are actively pursuing bringing a WNBA expansion team to Cleveland,” Nic Barlage, Cleveland Cavaliers, Rock Entertainment Group and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse CEO, said in a statement. “Cleveland’s vibrant ecosystem of world-class assets, passionate and engaged sports fans, coupled with a culture that has allowed professional sports to thrive, make our team and city uniquely positioned to provide an ideal home for the W’s next franchise.”
Cleveland had one of the original franchises in the WNBA, the Cleveland Rockers, which competed from 1997 until it dissolved after the 2003 season. The WNBA is expanding to 15 teams from 12 over the next two years.
In recent years, Cleveland has hosted many noteworthy sporting events, including the 2021 NFL Draft, 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend, and 2024 NCAA Women’s Final Four.
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“This energy and momentum give us the confidence that a WNBA Team will thrive in Northeast Ohio,” Barlage says.
The WNBA bid isn’t the only women’s sports team looking to come to Cleveland. The Cleveland Soccer Group launched a bid to bring an NWSL team to the city by 2026. If their bid is picked, Cleveland Soccer Group has a deal in place with the Cleveland Metroparks to build a new stadium next to Progressive Field.
The W Sports Bar, which is aiming to open in 2025 on the west side of Cleveland, wants to be the prime location for the city’s women’s sports fans.
“Cleveland women’s sports fans do not have a consistent space to call home to rally with other fans and show their love of the game. We plan to change that,” the bar says on its website. “We don’t yet have our own professional women’s sports team, but the demand is here and hopefully that’s all about to change.”
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