The WNBA could be returning to Detroit more than 15 years after the Shock left

Over 15 years after the Detroit Shock played its last season, a group of investors is looking to bring a WNBA team back to Metro Detroit.

Tom Gores, the owner of the Detroit Pistons, submitted a formal bid in January to bring women’s pro basketball back to Michigan. He said in a press release that the Motor City would benefit from the additional investment and economic opportunities a WNBA team would bring.

“For the WNBA this is home, and our bid represents an unprecedented opportunity for the league to come full circle and effect a long-hoped-for Detroit homecoming,” Gores said in the press release. “No city is more prepared to embrace the team as a community asset that drives unity and common ground.”

The Detroit Shock was one of the WNBA’s first expansion teams when it was established in Auburn Hills in 1996. Between 1998 and 2009, the Shock won three WNBA championships. The team’s low fan attendance, however, led the franchise to relocate to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2009, where it played until 2015. The franchise moved again in 2015, to Arlington, Texas, and is now called the Dallas Wings.

The bid to bring the WNBA back to Detroit comes as the league’s popularity grows: In 2024, the WNBA’s regular season was the most-viewed ever, and the championship was the most-watched in 25 years, according to ESPN. The WNBA coincidentally filed a trademark application for the name “Detroit Shock” the same day Gores submitted his offer, a potential sign of the league’s intentions to revive the team. The filing indicated the name’s use would be for basketball games, broadcast productions and apparel.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said last April that the league is looking to reach 16 teams by 2028, the Athletic reported. There will be 13 WNBA teams playing at the beginning of the 2025 season in May, with the latest addition of the Golden State Valkyries in the Bay Area.

“It’s complex because you need an arena and a practice facility and player housing and all the things, you need committed long-term ownership groups,” Englebert said, according to the Athletic. “The nice thing is we’re getting a lot of calls.”

Along with Gores, WNBA investors include Detroit Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Detroit Pistons Hall of Famer Grant Hill, and Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.

The press release announcing the bid for a WNBA team revealed that it would play at the Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit, and it also mentioned plans to construct a new WNBA practice facility and team headquarters. The investors intend to develop a community sports center, complete with publicly accessible basketball courts, volleyball courts and multipurpose fields to address the lack of youth sports facilities in Detroit.

“My vision is to continue developing community assets that create change and impact for families across this city,” Gores said. “Together, we will create a new model for how professional sports can drive youth development, health care and community impact not only on the court and in the arena, but also off the court and throughout the Detroit community.”

The endeavor has received the support of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who said in the press release that her administration “stands ready to support this franchise’s success.”

“Michiganders are fired up,” she said. “Our passion for our teams and players is unmatched, our commitment to our communities remains unwavering, and our vision for women’s sports is crystal clear.”