Cleveland, OH
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With WNBA expansion on the horizon, multiple reports say that Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert intends to make a bid to bring a franchise back to Cleveland.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has talked about the league having 16 teams by the 2028 season. The league will be at 13 teams to start the 2025 season with the addition of the Golden State Valkyries. Toronto and Portland, Oregon have already been announced as the home of future franchises.
Gilbert, whose Rock Entertainment Group also owns the Columbus Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, in addition to the Cavaliers told CNBC, “I just feel extraordinarily confident that, should a team be given to Cleveland, in part because of the city, in part because of what sports means here, in part because of the Cavs, it would immediately be a huge success.”
Cavaliers CEO Nic Barlage also spoke to CNBC, which was the first to report on the bid, about the potential of the WNBA finding a home in Cleveland.
“We have this unique convergence of infrastructure, culture and these foundational pieces that we think make Northeast Ohio, and specifically Cleveland, a great opportunity to expand from a WNBA perspective,” he said.
Cleveland hosted one of the WNBA’s eight original teams. From 1997 to 2003, the Cleveland Rockets competed in the league before the franchise folded due to low attendance.
Last year, Columbus added a professional women’s team to its city, as it welcomed the Pro Volleyball Federation’s Columbus Fury.
Columbus also had its own professional women’s basketball team, the Columbus Quest, which lasted two seasons from 1996-1998 in the now-defunct America Basketball League.
bmackay@dispatch.com