Cleveland announced as WNBA expansion franchise
After the original Cleveland Rockers disbanded in 2003, seven years after Cleveland was part of the inaugural WNBA rollout, professional women's basketball was gone from the lakefront. Monday, the Cleveland franchise returned, now the 16th team in the WNBA and will begin play in the 2028 season.
"The WNBA's return to Cleveland marks a pivotal moment for women's sports. Years from now, we will reflect on this day as a truly monumental point in Cleveland's sporting history," said owner Dan Gilbert in the team's official statement. "The passion, support and continued commitment of our community for our professional sports teams played an integral role in making this possible. We're confident that this team will honor our city's enthusiastic support of women's sports, reinvigorate our WNBA fan base and help cultivate the next generation of women's basketball enthusiasts and athletes. We're grateful to the WNBA and Commissioner [Cathy] Englebert for this opportunity and for their unwavering belief in Cleveland."
Cleveland's official announcement does not include branding of the team, but reacquired trademarks of previous WNBA franchises included the Rockers, and was the first of the group to get final approval. Also, an Instagram account "@wnbarockers" is new and includes Rock Entertainment Group CEO Nic Barrage as one of its first followers.
Within the announcement are links to purchase season ticket and kickoff merchandise but both links don't work at time of publishing. In addition, a YouTube video showing a piece of art painted with the history of women's basketball in the city, alongside video clips of the WNBA, Dawn Staley and more.
Previously reported details of the franchise were also confirmed. That includes playing all games at Rocket Arena and use of Cleveland Clinic Courts, the former training home of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, 10 miles south of downtown Cleveland in Independence, Ohio.
Former Cleveland Rockers and Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund disbanded the Rockers in 2003. The team had a 108-112 overall record and were the first of four original WNBA teams to fold in the early years of the country's top professional women's basketball league.
Cleveland follows the Toronto Tempo and unnamed Portland franchise, which both start in the 2026 season. This season, the Golden State Valkyries started their inaugural season as the WNBA's 13th team. So far this season, Golden State showed what is possible with expansion with the Valkyries leading the league in average attendance. Plus, the $500 million dollar valuation of Golden State makes it the most valuable team in the league. On the court, the Valkyries have a 9-7 record at the time of publishing. That puts the expansion team at No. 6 in the WNBA standings.
