ST. LOUIS – St. Louis’ chances of receiving a WNBA expansion team have diminished significantly after a city is expected to be announced later as the league’s next expansion franchise.
According to the Sports Business Journal (SBJ), the WNBA are preparing to award Cleveland with the league’s 16th basketball team in 2028, reprising their former team name, the Cleveland Rockers. Cleveland’s bid for the team is expected to be worth $250M, a new WNBA record.
The news comes as a big blow for St. Louis after an ownership group for the potential WNBA team was co-led by billionaires Robert Chaifetz, David Hoffman, and St. Louis native and NBA superstar Jayson Tatum. During a press conference at the NBA All-Star Weekend on Saturday, Tatum spoke briefly on his interest in bringing a WNBA team to St. Louis and the impact the move would have on the city.
“Just investing in women’s sports, such a big believer in that and very prideful about where I’m from,” said Tatum in front of a group of sports media personnel. “I have a sister who’s lived in St. Louis. She’s 11 so just understanding how big of an impact that would be for the city of St. Louis and a bunch of girls that are around my sister’s age and the next generation.”
Although Cleveland will be rewarded with the team, there is still optimism the league could expand to 18 teams in the future, but a new set of trademark applications could signal which cities the WNBA may target next.
SBJ reports that the WNBA recently applied to trademark the Rockers, as well as the names of other former WNBA franchises: the Houston Comets, the Detroit Shock, the Miami Sol, and the Charlotte Sting. Although the WNBA did not share why they filed the team names, the trademark could possibly be telling which cities they may want to award in the future.
Despite the challenges facing the city, there remains hope for a St. Louis-based WNBA team but the competition is fierce as 13 other cities have expressed interest in a WNBA franchise. Kansas City is among cities interested in a team and Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes even doubled down on his desire to secure a team during a press conference before the Chiefs Super Bowl matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I know if we were able to get a WNBA team to Kansas City, it would be packed every single night. That’s just the type of atmosphere that we have. I’m hoping we can get that done and we can continue to push women’s sports forward.”
The WNBA will continue their expansion when they welcome the Golden State Valkyries in 2025 along with the Toronto Tempo and another unnamed team in Portland joining during the 2026 season.