Demand for a WNBA franchise has exploded recently, and now you can add Nashville and Tennessee Volunteers’ legend Candace Parker to the list of interested suitors.
This week, Parker joined fellow Volunteers’ legend Payton Manning and singers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill in the bid made by Nashville Predators owner Bill Haslam to bring a coveted franchise to the city.
“This is going to be Tennessee’s team,” Crissy Haslam, Bill’s wife, told The Tennessean. “There’s going to be families with daughters who play basketball, but there are going to be people who don’t even know yet that they are going to love this sport.”
Nashville now officially joins a crowded field of cities pursuing a WNBA franchise that includes Cleveland, Houston, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Kansas City.
The bid also adds to the dream of growing Nashville as a major sports hub, a vision shared by Oakland A’s pitching legend Dave Stewart, who formed an investment group in 2022 whose goal is to bring an MLB expansion team to the city.
The Haslem-led group has revealed that the WNBA team would be called The Summitt, in honor of legendary Volunteers head coach, Pat Summitt, who spent 31 years at Tennessee, amassing a record of 923-160 and winning 8 NCAA Championship titles.
Parker played for Summitt and won NCAA Tournament titles in 2007 and 2008.
“Tennessee is the DNA of everything women’s basketball stands for,” Parker said. “I’m excited to be part of the group working to bring a WNBA team to the state and honor Coach Summitt’s legacy.”
The cost for the franchise hasn’t been revealed, but based on recent bids, it would be north of $100 million.
The Golden State Valkyries went for $50 million in 2023, the Toronto Tempo for $115 million and the latest franchise, the currently unnamed Portland franchise, went for $125 million.
If selected, the Summitt would be the 16th WNBA franchise and would begin play in 2028.
