On June 30, 2025, the WNBA announced that a women’s basketball team would be coming to Cleveland in 2028. Cleveland will be joining the league along with Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (30). The addition of these three will bring the league team total to 18 teams. This announcement comes as part of a huge expansion effort from the WNBA, as the league will go from 13 teams to 18 over the next 5 years.
Basketball has always been a big part of Cleveland, as the Cavaliers are one of the city’s most popular and successful sports teams. However, some people don’t know that Cleveland used to have a women’s basketball team. The Cleveland Rockers, one of the eight original teams of the WNBA, played from 1997-2003. The team was owned by Gordon Gund, who also owned the Cavs at the time. The Rockers saw mild success in their 6 years in the league, with a combined record of 114-121. They did manage to win the Eastern Conference title in 1998, their best performing season. However, in 2003, Gund decided that he no longer wished to operate the team, likely due to low revenue and attendance. Unable to find alternative local ownership, the Rockers ceased operations in December 2003.
While the Rockers stint in the WNBA only lasted 6 years, many Cleveland sports fans are thrilled to be getting a women’s basketball team back in the Land. The league has yet to announce the team’s moniker, and it’ll be interesting to see if the league reverts back to the Rockers, a nod to Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or if a new name is chosen.
The team will be owned and operated by Dan Gilbert’s Rock Entertainment Group, the same ownership group of the Cavs. Additionally, Allison Howard was recently appointed as the president of the new franchise. Home games will be played at Rocket Arena, where the Cavs and Cleveland Monsters also play their home games.
The team has already started making an impact in the community, as Cleveland WNBA will host 28 basketball clinics for girls and young women across Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey in the next year. Building a clear connection with fans will be important for the growth of the team, as it joins an established and crowded sports scene that includes the Cleveland Guardians, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Cleveland Monsters. With the addition of a WNBA, Cleveland has become an important city for fostering the growth of women’s sports. The city will welcome a women’s pro soccer team in 2026, and it already has a thriving women’s high school sports atmosphere. All of this contributes to a nationwide effort and expansion of women’s sports that sees the WNBA, NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League), and WPBL (Women’s Pro Baseball League starting in 2026), become staples in the American sports scene.
The return of women’s basketball to The Land is a much anticipated event for Northeast Ohio, and many Cleveland fans, including myself, can’t wait to see the team tip off in 2028. Over 5,000 season ticket memberships have already been purchased, showing clear excitement from a newly established fanbase, and the team can only grow from here.
