Women’s sports have been red hot over the recent few years, and nothing has been bigger than the attention surrounding the WNBA and the race to acquire a franchise.
While the Golden State Valkyries begin play this year, followed by the Toronto Tempo and the unnamed Portland franchise the year after, the league is actively seeking a 16th franchise, and cities like Cleveland and Philadelphia are in the running.
But Detroit, which last fielded the Shock in 2009 before it moved to Tulsa and then Dallas, where it’s now known as the Wings, wants to bring a franchise back to the Motor City, and the group organizing that effort just enlisted a big name in Eminem to do just that.
According to Sportico, the Detroit-born and raised rapper has joined the group led by Detroit Pistons owner Tom Goresbidding to bring a team back to the Motor City.
It’s a powerful group consisting of the owners of the city’s other major sports teams, the Red Wings, Tigers and Lions.
The Detroit Shock was once a dominant franchise, winning three WNBA titles (2003, 2006, 2008) during its time in the city (1998 – 2009). Then the franchise moved to Tulsa as the Tulsa Shock before heading to Dallas and a team name rebrand.
While Detroit makes perfect sense due to its sports-crazed fanbase and successful previous run with a team, the group faces stiff competition from Cleveland and Cavs owner Dan Gilbert.
The Cleveland group has reportedly made a record-setting expansion bid of $250 million, making it the reported front-runner. Yet the expansion franchise hasn’t been officially awarded to the city yet, which last had the Cleveland Rockers franchise, so other cities such as Philadelphia remain in play.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is reportedly going to announce the winning bid for the league’s 16th franchise this month, but from the interest that’s exploded recently, she might want to add two to three additional franchises in the 2027 and 2028 seasons.
So while the respective groups wait on word from Commissioner Engelbert, Detroit is trying to shore up its position by adding the city’s biggest name in music to the potential ownership group.
