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Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Detroit's fallen stadiums: What happened to The Palace of Auburn Hills?
This is Part 2 of a six-part series looking back at the arenas and stadiums that housed some of Detroit's greatest teams over the past century. Come back to every day this week for more historic Detroit sports site memories. Known more simply as 'the Palace,' The Palace of Auburn Hills was the home of the NBA's Detroit Pistons from 1988-2017, the WNBA's Detroit Shock from 1998-2009, the Arena Football League's Detroit Fury from 2001-04 and the International Hockey League's Detroit Vipers from 1994-2001, as well as several soccer teams. The Palace was constructed by Pistons owner Bill Davidson, who did not want to share Joe Louis Arena with the Detroit Red Wings, though the two had previously shared Olympia Stadium from 1957-61. The team moved from Olympia, on Grand River, to Cobo Arena, by the Detroit River, in 1961 and then north to the Pontiac Silverdome, where the Detroit Lions played, in 1978. Davidson wanted the Pistons to play somewhere he owned, so he ordered construction of a new building in Auburn Hills. It was only five miles from the Silverdome, but was 32 miles from the heart of Detroit. It was the first privately financed NBA arena. The Palace included plush seats instead of hard plastic, an entirely new kind of suite and an early version of the giant video screens now ubiquitous at sports arenas, all for about $90 million. The Palace's first event was a Sting concert on Aug. 13, 1988, but the main event began when the Pistons defeated the Charlotte Hornets, 94-85, on Nov. 5. They won the franchise's first NBA championship that season and another one the next season. They added one more, in 2004, before they moved back downtown to Little Caesars Arena in 2017. The team's immediate success after finally moving into the Palace only felt like salt in the wound for fans in the city. In 21 years downtown, the team had exactly three winning seasons. Evan as tenants in the Silverdome, the Pistons set NBA attendance records but rarely won – and sometimes had to relocate major playoff games, as they did for a 1984 Game 5 loss to the New York Knicks. Now, after getting a home of their own in the suburbs, the Pistons was suddenly soaring – and some of its most loyal fans couldn't watch. In 1990, Sports Illustrated's Jack McCallum wrote, 'This was not the first pro sports franchise to relocate to the suburbs, nor will it be the last. But because the Pistons' recent achievements stand in such stark contrast to the city of Detroit's bevy of social and economic woes, and because the mayor has been so critical of the team, the club's decision to leave downtown embodies all sorts of sociological issues, including city versus suburbs, black versus white and poor versus affluent.' McCallum noted that the crowd at those Pistons games was mostly white, compared with a much more diverse crowd when they were located downtown. But many of the downtown games had been half-empty. Moving the team out to the suburbs drastically decreased the diversity, but increased the profits. Davidson was, above all, a businessman, and wanted his team to be located wherever would make him the most money. So, unfortunately for city fans, success continued out in the suburbs. In addition to the Pistons, the Shock and Vipers won titles calling the Palace home. Red Wings legend Gordie Howe skated his last shift on the ice of the Palace in his lone game for the Detroit Vipers in 1997, making him the only hockey player to play in six consecutive decades. The Shock won three titles as Palace tenants (though two were clinched at other metro Detroit venues due to conflicts), giving the Palace a new address t 'Six Championship Drive' – three for the Pistons and three for the Shock. (The Shock departed for Tulsa following the franchise's sale after Davidson's 2009 death, and now play in Texas as the Dallas Wings.) Over the years, the Palace was home to numerous concerts as well as one of the most infamous events in NBA history: the 'Malice at the Palace,' on Nov. 19, 2004. A fight between Pistons center Ben Wallace and Pacers forward Ron Artest escalated when a fan threw a drink at Artest, causing Artest to charge into the crowd and tipping off a melee in the stands. Nine players were suspended and five fans were banned from Pistons home games for life. No matter what was happening, the Palace was always the center of attention. The Pistons' departure from the Palace began when Platinum Equity CEO Tom Gores, bought the franchise, as well as its related entertainment holdings, from Davidson's widow, Karen, in 2011. A few months before Little Caesars Arena was set to open in downtown Detroit in 2017, Gores announced the Pistons would share the arena with the Detroit Red Wings, creating a partnership with Olympia Entertainment, owned the Ilitch family. Gores thought moving the Pistons downtown would encourage foot-traffic fans to attend games, something the Palace lacked in its suburban location. The last person to perform at the Palace was Bob Seger on Sept. 23, 2017. The Palace sat empty from 2017-19, when it was purchased by a joint venture and demolished on July 11, 2020. In 2023, General Motors announced it had purchased the site. The lot is under construction as GM builds a parts plant on the site. Six Championship Drive is now a dirt road filled with construction materials with no celebration of the history that preceded it. Contact Matthew Auchincloss at mauchincloss@ The series Come back all week for our series on Detroit's fallen stadiums: July 21: Tiger Stadium. July 22: The Palace of Auburn Hills. July 23: Cobo Arena. July 24: Joe Louis Arena. July 25: Pontiac Silverdome. July 26: Olympia Stadium. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit's fallen stadiums: The Palace of Auburn Hills
New York Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
WNBA teams failed in Cleveland and Detroit before. Will it be different this time?
As Deanna Nolan prepared to travel from her Detroit area home to New York City for the rollout of her hometown's new WNBA expansion franchise last week, the former five-time All-Star reached for a suitcase she hadn't used in more than a decade. She insisted she didn't know what was inside the brown Tommy Bahama roller bag before she selected it. She said she hadn't traveled with the suitcase in 15 years. But as she rummaged through one of its pockets, scrambling to pack for her Eastbound trip, Nolan found an original Detroit Shock luggage tag. Advertisement 'It's a sign,' she said. Nolan had to travel with that bag as a member of the former WNBA team, with which she won three championships. She made sure to bring the tag to the unveiling at the league's New York City Midtown office. Ten days ago, the WNBA announced three expansion franchises: Cleveland in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030. Philadelphia is a first-time WNBA home, but Cleveland and Detroit have been WNBA markets before. Cleveland had the Rockers from the league's inaugural season in 1997 until 2003. Detroit had the Shock from 1998-2009. Stakeholders with the new teams in Cleveland and Detroit are confident the second iteration will be more lasting than the original. 'We have a team and an enterprise that's ready to embrace this,' said Nic Barlage, the CEO of Rock Entertainment Group, which owns the new WNBA franchise and NBA's Cavaliers. 'That is a key differentiator for us.' The change starts at the top, with both franchises being led by new ownership groups from their past versions. The original Rockers had been owned and operated by Gordon Gund, a businessman who ran the Rockers and Cavaliers. When the Rockers folded, Gund cited low attendance and a business model he said was no longer viable. He said the Rockers did not turn a profit in any of its seven seasons, and they drew an average of just 7,400 people at 20,000-seat Gund Arena in their final season. As the franchise floundered, Gund even wondered whether the Cavaliers winning the 2003 NBA Draft lottery, and with it the right to select LeBron James, could impact the city's WNBA future. 'That can maybe be a consideration in having us continue for an additional time (with the Rockers), while maybe not doing as well as we would like,' he told the Cleveland Plain Dealer in June 2003. 'But that doesn't change the basic principle that we want it to be a viable business model.' Advertisement Much has changed around the WNBA since then, of course. The league is experiencing a significant period of growth across a number of key metrics (TV viewership, merchandise sales, attendance, corporate partnerships). Ownership groups of the three expansion franchises paid a league-record $250 million expansion fee for their respective teams, and teams across the league are on far more stable footing than they were at the end of the aughts. A WNBA franchise hasn't folded since 2009 nor has one relocated since 2018. Minnesota Lynx president Cheryl Reeve was an assistant coach in Cleveland in 2003 and worked for the Shock as an assistant coach and later as general manager from 2006-09. She said that in the early aughts 'it took a lot to get NBA franchises behind their WNBA franchises.' 'What I hope is that both Detroit and Cleveland learned a lot about their experiences the first time around,' Reeve said. 'I anticipate an overall more committed experience because that's what's necessary. Anything short of that, (and) it won't be as successful as it should be.' 'There was a period of time where people were investing in women's basketball because they felt it was the right thing to do,' said Los Angeles Sparks general manager Raegan Pebley, who played for the Rockers in 1998. And now? 'People realize this is a business, and the intention to be profitable (is a focus) as well,' Pebley said. According to Sportico, WNBA franchise valuations grew 180 percent since 2024, with the New York Liberty recently selling a minority stake in the franchise for a professional women's sports team record $450 million. A demonstrated willingness to invest was critical in the WNBA landing on each ownership group. By the time the Cleveland WNBA franchise begins play, Gilbert and his group will have invested $1.1 billion in sports and entertainment infrastructure in Northeast Ohio. Barlage said that Cleveland WNBA will 'invest significantly' in the already existing Cavaliers practice facility, which the WNBA team will use full-time when it begins play. Advertisement In Detroit, Tom Gores, owner of the NBA's Pistons, and the rest of the franchise's ownership group will build a new practice facility for the WNBA team. The first version of the Shock was owned by Bill Davidson, who also owned the Pistons, and practiced in the Pistons' facility. Davidson died in March 2009, and Detroit's longtime coach, Bill Laimbeer, resigned three games into the ensuing WNBA season thrusting the franchise into further uncertainty. That October, an ownership group from Tulsa purchased the team and relocated it there. 'The fact of the matter is that the economic realities have caused us to make this decision,' Tom Wilson, then-president of Place Sports and Entertainment, said at the time. The Shock, he said, lost $2 million in their final season. Arn Tellem, the Pistons' vice chairman, said members of Detroit's investor group went to Shock games. He said local business leaders and civic leaders are re-energized by the recent news. Detroit's ownership group also includes NBA Hall of Famers Grant Hill and Chris Webber, as well as Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp and quarterback Jared Goff. There is broader interest in the league as well, and Tellem is confident the WNBA's current financial footing puts new teams in a position to succeed. 'The league is at another level as far as interest and coverage,' he said. '(WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert) made the point, it wouldn't have worked five or 10 years ago, but today, it's on a huge rise, and I know that fans are going to be overjoyed with this decision.' Investment will be critical for both groups to avoid repeating shortcomings. How both groups recognize the importance in honoring their history is also an open question, though neither committed to picking their old names when the expansion news was announced. Even with the Shock relocating more than a decade ago, Nolan has felt the Shock's presence for years. She recalled fans stopping her at restaurants and inside grocery stores to voice their affinity for the Shock. For years, she said, they've asked her when the city was bringing a team back. Now she can say they officially are. 'It's a long time coming,' Nolan said. 'I've been waiting.' (Photo, from left, of Ruth Riley, Cheryl Ford, Swin Cash, Deanna Nolan and Barbara Ferris: Tom Pidgeon / Getty Images)
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How WNBA expansion could affect CBA negotiations, season schedules, conferences and long-term growth
MINNEAPOLIS — Cheryl Reeve is intimately familiar with the history of the Detroit Shock. She won two WNBA championships in four seasons as an assistant and served as the franchise's final general manager before it ceased operations and relocated to Tulsa. She also had stints with the shuttered Charlotte and Cleveland franchises to begin her professional career. 'What I hope is that both Detroit and Cleveland learned a lot about their experiences the first time around,' Reeve, the Minnesota Lynx head coach and general manager, said on Tuesday before their 74-59 Commissioner's Cup loss. 'And I anticipate an overall more committed experience, because that's what's necessary. Anything short of that, it won't be as successful as it should be.' Advertisement Players who spoke about the expansion news this week largely agreed and voiced concern that while the league adds franchises at its discretion , it is ignoring active ownership groups they believe are not fully committed and are failing to support their players. 'I think it's awesome the league is expanding,' Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said. 'We're having new fans and people are interested, but, again, does it make sense? Can you take care of the people who are in the league now? Where are we going to be in 5 or 10 years? What's that going to look like? Those inquiries and concerns will play into collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations that remain ongoing between the league and players. Considering Sabally called the latest proposal from the league a ' slap in the face ' on Tuesday when asked about expansion, players aren't pleased with the direction of those talks. The sides will meet at All-Star weekend in Indianapolis later this month. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said on Monday she remained in communication with union executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson about the expansion, telling her they were 'getting ready to do something bigger than we thought.' But waiting until after negotiations for expansion bid announcements wasn't viable. Advertisement 'I don't want to over-vector on how much CBA played into this or timing,' Engelbert told a group of reporters after the announcement on Monday. 'This is the right thing to do for this league at this time.' Adding six teams in six years will have a natural effect on the structure of the regular season with a record-high number of teams. And the news could also impact how and what players value beyond their No. 1 priority of higher salaries. 'We're going to get what we're worth, and we're not settling for anything,' Cunningham said on Tuesday. 'That's a big message across the league, that we're not going to settle. And so that's on the commissioner and the league side to figure out what you're going to do.' How will it impact the schedule? The CBA outlines limits on the number of regular-season games allowed in a season. The league went up to the maximum 44 this year, growing from 32 in 2021. With more teams in the mix and TV dollars on the mind, it's likely to go up again. More games mean more revenue for the league and franchises. Advertisement That's already a flash point. The WNBA instituting a league-wide charter program that players want codified in the deal helped with travel issues, but concerns remain. Players consistently speak out about the structure of the schedule, condensed games and the impact of prioritization that requires them to report to their WNBA teams on time . The league is playing in the same general footprint of the calendar as when it had 32 games. A widening footprint beyond October would limit their opportunities to go play overseas, though higher salaries should negate some of that anyway. The issue is also intertwined with roster sizes that players want to see grow for the health and safety of players. Lynx guard Bridget Carleton noted that while the schedule is similar to the NBA, that league has larger rosters and the ability to call someone up from a G-League affiliate. They have pushed publicly for larger roster sizes over team expansion, arguing it would add the same amount of total roster spots. Could conferences return? The league could also return to focusing more rigidly on its conferences. A decade ago, it shifted away from the conference postseason format to better showcase its two best teams in the Finals. But a record 18 teams may lend itself to better scheduling, a more structured conference-based postseason and therefore those rivalries Engelbert desires. Right now, the conferences are inconsequential outside of the Commissioner's Cup. Advertisement To do so would take some creativity. As Cunningham pointed out Tuesday, there are a lack of teams in the south and central parts of the U.S. Detroit, Cleveland and Toronto are regional around the Great Lakes with proximity to Indiana as well, while Philadelphia is deep into the East Coast corridor. Only Portland naturally fits into the Western Conference. The push toward rivalries and individual talents is a years-long approach by the league to boost interest, viewership and intrigue, which has sometimes rankled players. 'We were marketing the league as this group of 144, 12 teams, we're an entity,' WNBA chief marketing officer Phil Cook told Yahoo Sports at the 2024 WNBA Draft . 'And now we're starting to act like a real sports league and promote the rivalry.' What will expansion drafts entail? The current CBA loosely details the expansion draft in the CBA, allowing the WNBA to 'decide in its discretion' to have existing teams make players available for assignment to any expansion team. It does exclude unrestricted free agents, unless they can be cored by the expansion team. Advertisement That will be tricky this offseason since players who aren't on rookie-scale deals will become free agents. Knowing salaries would rise, players didn't sign past 2025. 'Every year there's going to be an expansion draft coming up, which is hard to fathom especially with the CBA in the works and not knowing what everything is going to look like,' Lynx guard Bridget Carleton said. But there are also three more expansion drafts to come, and with the CBA up, it's an opportunity for players to negotiate terms if they have other ideas. The three new teams are staggered over several years because the league 'didn't want to degrade the quality of the game by bringing too many roster spots too soon,' Engelbert said on Monday. The last era of rapid expansion came in the first years of the league. Four teams entered in 2000 and the design of the expansion draft made it difficult to build a competitive roster. The league didn't announce specifics around the Golden State Valkyries selection process until late 2024. Advertisement Can the league sustain its growth? The league is in a no-win situation in some respects. Limiting expansion would draw rebukes the same way their rapid expansion plans have this week. The most important aspect for the league, teams and players is that all ownership groups buy in now, as well as later, when leaner years inevitably land. Players already want to see terms in the CBA that require ownership groups to provide professional-level practice facilities and accommodations. That arms race is in its final stages, but certain teams still lag behind. Might players look to add more verbiage in the agreement to ensure organizations are keeping WNBA teams a focal point, rather than a side hobby to NBA franchises? Advertisement Reeve said on Tuesday she is a 'big believer' in the NBA/WNBA partnerships (the Lynx and Timberwolves share an ownership group), but wants it to evolve out of the way it's been structured in the past. 'The ownership groups are going to have to look at, how do you maximize revenue?' Reeve said. 'And it isn't because you're sharing sales staffs or you're not getting behind the sponsorship dollars [for the WNBA team].' She said she doesn't want to see the same issues of the NCAA in 'missing the opportunity for women' while laser-focusing on the men's game.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sophie Cunningham, other WNBA players speak out about expansion, team needs amid CBA negotiations
MINNEAPOLIS — Sophie Cunningham isn't eager to visit two of the league's newest expansion teams when they begin play in the coming years. 'It's a hard decision-making situation, but, man, I don't know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland],' Cunningham said Tuesday morning ahead of shootaround for the Commissioner's Cup final. Advertisement The WNBA announced the return of teams in Detroit and Cleveland on Monday morning, as well as the introduction of a third expansion team in Philadelphia. By the end of the decade, the WNBA will total 18 teams, a historic number in the burgeoning league's 29th season. It previously played with 16 in the early 2000s, including the Detroit Shock (1998-2009) before its relocation to Tulsa and ultimately Dallas, and the Cleveland Rockers (1997-2003). The expansion clubs' ownership groups spoke highly on Monday of their cities' respective passion for women's sports and the excitement they heard from business and government leaders about the prospect of their own teams. Detroit Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem told a story about Governor Gretchen Whitmer playing a competitive game of knockout with the Pistons and her immediate support of their bid for a WNBA team. Advertisement 'She was all in,' Tellem said on Monday. 'She may be our No. 1 fan in the state. She'll really be excited for this news, and she'll, I'll tell you this, she'll be a regular working out with our team.' Those cities backed them up on Tuesday afternoon. The city of Detroit pushed back on Cunningham's comments, noting the Shock ranked top five in attendance for five straight seasons, topped the charts in three and set a single-game attendance record of 22,076 fans in the playoffs. The team averaged around 9,500 fans in those years after a franchise-high of 10,229 in 1998 that ranked sixth, according to Across the Timeline. The city of Cleveland also clapped back, sharing a video of Fever teammate Caitlin Clark speaking highly of the city while playing in the 2024 Final Four. Nic Barlage, CEO of Rock Entertainment Group and the Cavaliers, said that event was the 'final catalyst to kind of go all in and go all in the way we did.' Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell also got involved, responding on X to Cunningham's comments by sharing fire emojis highlighting Cleveland in the summertime. NBA groups win WNBA bids All three incoming franchises will be owned by NBA ownership groups. Cunningham, in her first year with the Indiana Fever, said she understands why that choice was made, while still questioning other options. Advertisement 'I totally get having kind of the brother team of the NBA side because it is helpful,' the seven-year veteran said. 'It's way more helpful. You just get more perks. There's more opportunities. And so I get that aspect. 'You also want to listen to your players, too. Where do they want to play? Where are they going to get excited to play and draw fans?' Cunningham began her career in Phoenix, where the Mercury and Sun share an ownership group. The Fever and Pacers share an ownership group as well. The Liberty, Lynx, Mystics, Sparks and Valkyries all have the same umbrella structure. NBA and WNBA teams under the same ownership structure often share facilities, social media staffers, communication/PR crews and marketing leaders. They also host games in the larger arenas, whereas other teams in the league are limited to smaller event spaces. Nashville, Miami, Houston lose out The expansion news follows years of incoming bids from cities around the country, including ones in Nashville, Denver, Houston, Austin, Charlotte and Kansas City. Predators chairman and bid leader Bill Haslam called out the commonality of NBA ownership groups in a statement on Nashville not being awarded a team. Cunningham said people wanted Miami or Nashville, a city she singled out specifically for its lucrative women's sports base. The Missouri native also highlighted the bid by Kansas City, noting that though she is biased, it 'has a great situation for a women's sports team.' Advertisement 'Amazing opportunity,' she said. 'There's a huge arena downtown that no one's using. And I think that the women's soccer league that people draw.' The NWSL's Kansas City Current averaged 11,500 fans per game in 2024, according to Sportico. It ranked sixth in the 14-team league and is one of seven to average five digits. Four of the six WNBA expansion teams announced since late 2023 are in the eastern half of the U.S. It creates the natural rivalries Commissioner Cathy Engelbert craves, but also results in WNBA deserts. 'You would think that you would want to try to get more of the country engaged in the WNBA,' Cunningham said. Advertisement Fans called out the lack of teams in the south after the announcement, and others circled Denver as a perfect connector. Houston, where the Comets became the league's greatest dynasty out of the gate, is still high on the list, Engelbert said. Roster expansion vs. team expansion There was muted caution by Cunningham and other players in Minneapolis for the Commissioner's Cup championship between the Fever and Lynx, as well as from players around the league on Tuesday. There will be an expansion draft each of the coming years through 2030, creating roster uncertainty and diluting the talent pool of teams, as well as available in-season free agents. Players have long voiced their desires for larger rosters versus team expansion, citing player health and safety as 10-player rosters and hardship contracts are regular occurrences. Advertisement 'When teams are still playing with nine players, but there's 18 teams, it's a little bit challenging,' Lynx seven-year veteran Bridget Carleton said. 'So I think there's other areas that need to improve as well.' Carleton compared the schedules of the WNBA and NBA, finding similarity in games played per week. That's been another major talking point as the league expands its number of games within the same footprint. But, she said, the NBA has larger rosters, plus can call up G-League players. Engelbert has repeatedly said expansion allows the WNBA to expand its footprint, thereby growing its business. Advertisement 'I talk to corporate partners, especially on the retail side, and they say, Cathy, we're in 100 cities. You're only in 12,' Engelbert said on Monday. 'That really resonated with me. We need scale. The more cities we're in, the more they'll carry our merch, the more demand that will be for the merch, more fandom we build, so it was that kind of circular thing that was important to me.' Both Cunningham and Satou Sabally, speaking to reporters in Phoenix during the mini Commissioner's Cup break, said that in ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations, the focus is on taking care of the players actively in the league and not so much the prospect of expansion.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Detroit responds to Sophie Cunningham questioning WNBA expansion's return to city
The City of Detroit is responding to Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham after she questioned the WNBA's decision to expand the league to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia by 2030. "I don't know how excited people are to be going to Detroit," Cunningham said on Tuesday, ahead of the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup final, in response to the WNBA's expansion news on Monday. Advertisement "There's more opportunities, so I get that aspect, but I also think you want to listen to your players too. Where do they want to play? Where are they going to get excited to play and draw fans?" Cunningham said. "I'm not so sure what the though process is there." Cunningham offered up a number of other cities, saying, "Miami would've been a great one, Nashville is an amazing city, Kansas City— amazing opportunity with a huge arena downtown that no one's using." REQUIRED READING: WNBA announces expansion teams in 3 cities by 2030 Cunningham's comments reached the city of Detroit, which is home to many professional sports teams, including the NFL's Detroit Lions, NBA's Detroit Pistons, MLB's Detroit Tigers and NHL's Detroit Red Wings. Detroit was formerly home to the three-time WNBA champion Detroit Shock from 1998 to 2009, but the franchise relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma from 2010 to 2015 and eventually rebranded into the Dallas Wings in 2016. Advertisement "The last time we were home to a WNBA team (Detroit Shock) we ranked top five in attendance for five straight seasons, No. 1 in attendance for three straight seasons and set a single-game attendance record of 22,076 fans at Game 3 of the 2003 WNBA Finals," the official X account for the City of Detroit tweeted in response to Cunningham. The city's social media account reminded that "Detroit is a sports town," noting that "more than 775,000 people were excited to come to Detroit for the 2024 NFL draft," an attendance that broke the previous 2019 record. "We're sure we'll see the same excitement for the WNBA returning," the City of Detroit added. Jun 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) signs autographs for the fans before the game against the Dallas Wings at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images On Monday, the WNBA announced it will establish new franchises in Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030), joining previously announced cities Portland and Toronto, which will begin play next season. Advertisement '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." The expansion plan now goes to the WNBA and NBA Boards of Governors for final approval. Contributing: Stever Gardner The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sophie Cunningham questions WNBA expansion team city; Detroit responds
