Three More Cities Getting WNBA Teams

The WNBA is expanding to 18 teams over the next five years, with Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia all set to join the league by 2030, per the AP. Cleveland will begin play in 2028, Detroit in 2029, and Philadelphia the following season, assuming they get approval from the NBA and WNBA Board of Governors. Toronto and Portland will enter the league next year. All three new teams announced Monday have NBA ownership groups. Each paid a $250 million expansion fee, which is about five times as much as Golden State dished out for a WNBA team a few years ago. The Valkyries began their first season this year, per the New York Times.

The Detroit and Cleveland teams will play at the NBA arenas that currently exist, while Philadelphia is planning on a new building that will be completed hopefully by 2030. The expansion "is a powerful reflection of our league's extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game, and the surging demand for investment in women's professional basketball," said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Both Cleveland and Detroit had WNBA teams in the past, and Philadelphia was the home for an ABL team, a now-defunct pro women's league.