| Cleveland WNBA team | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | WNBA |
| Founded | June 30, 2025 |
| Arena | Rocket Arena |
| Capacity | 19,432 |
| Location | Cleveland, Ohio |
| President | Allison Howard |
| Ownership | Dan Gilbert |
| Website | wnbacleveland |
The Cleveland WNBA team is an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. Established in 2025, the team will compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and is scheduled to begin play in 2028. The team is owned by Dan Gilbert, who also owns the Cleveland Cavaliers, and will play its home games at Rocket Arena. The franchise will be the second WNBA team in the city's history, following the Cleveland Rockers, a charter member of the WNBA in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
History
[edit]The Cleveland Rockers were Cleveland's first Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team, playing from the league's establishment in 1997 until 2003, when the Gund family decided to not continue operating the team.[1] With no local ownership to be found, the Rockers officially ceased operations in December 2003.[2]
In February 2025, it was reported that Cleveland would likely get a WNBA expansion franchise for the 2028 season; said franchise would be owned by Dan Gilbert (owner of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, G League's Cleveland Charge and AHL's Cleveland Monsters) under his Rock Entertainment Group, would join the Cavaliers and Monsters at Rocket Arena and would move into the Cavaliers' practice facility in Independence when the Cavs' new practice facility, the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center, was completed.[3]
On June 30, Cleveland was awarded the WNBA's 16th franchise to begin play in the 2028 season;[4] on the same day the 17th franchise was awarded to Detroit to begin play in 2029 and the 18th to Philadelphia to begin play in 2030.[5]
On July 12, it was reported that the WNBA no longer owned the trademark to the "Cleveland Rockers" 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 October 2024.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Cavs owner dumps WNBA's Rockers". Detroit Free Press. Associated Press. September 20, 2003. p. 2B. Retrieved August 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cleveland Rockers are out of business". The Charlotte Observer. Bloomberg. December 27, 2003. p. 7C. Retrieved August 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Friend, Tom (February 16, 2025). "Cleveland likely to get next WNBA franchise in '28". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ "WNBA's 16th Franchise Coming to Cleveland, OH". Cleveland WNBA team. June 30, 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
- ^ "WNBA Announces Expansion to Historic 18 Teams with New Teams in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia". Women's National Basketball Association. June 30, 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
- ^ 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.
