The WNBA may have announced expansion franchises in three new cities Tuesday but Houston is not giving up on landing a WNBA team.
Gretchen Sheirr, the Houston Rockets president of business operations, said that a group led by Tilman Fertitta will continue to pursue a team for the city. Houston bid for a franchise in the recent expansion round but the WNBA decided to award teams to Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland instead.
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“The addition of three WNBA expansion teams is a testament to the trajectory of the league and the excitement surrounding women’s basketball,” Sheirr said in a statement. “While we are disappointed not to have been awarded a team at this time, we remain optimistic about the future. The Houston Comets played a vital role in shaping the league’s history, and Houston’s passion for basketball remains as strong as ever.”
The WNBA will stand at 18 franchises after those three cities come into play by 2030. The league has announced plans for six expansion teams in the past three years. So far, the Golden State Valkyries are the only one to begin play. The Toronto Tempo and a team in Portland will join the league next season.
On Monday, commissioner Cathy Engelbert left the door open for more franchises and said Houston was high on that list.
“One of those I wanted to shout out because they have such a strong history in this league, and they’re a great ownership group — Houston. … That’s the one we have our eye on,” Engelbert said. “Tilman has been a great supporter of the WNBA, and we’ll stay tuned on that.”
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She added, “Houston would be up next for sure. There might be opportunities there.”
Engelbert said having first-class arenas for franchises to play in was important in each of the three cities they selected being awarded teams. Houston would have played its games at the Toyota Center, home of the Rockets.
Outside of expansion, there are other opportunities for Fertitta to bring a WNBA team back to Houston. The Connecticut Sun are currently exploring a sale, including one that could bring in a new controlling owner, and Fertitta could choose to take the route of buying the Sun and relocating them to Houston.
The city previously had a WNBA team from 1997 to 2008. The Houston Comets won the first four WNBA titles in the league’s history and served as its first dynasty. Comets players won four of the first six MVP awards, too. Cynthia Cooper won the award in the league’s first two years and Sheryl Swoopes won in 2000 and 2002.
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The Comets disbanded in 2008 after the team’s owner could not find a buyer for the franchise.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Houston Texans, Connecticut Sun, WNBA, Sports Business
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