The ownership group behind the Philadelphia 76ers is trying to bring a WNBA team to the city. Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment put in an official bid to the league for a WNBA expansion team, a company spokesman told The Athletic on Friday.
Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the Houston Rockets, has also submitted a bid to the WNBA for an expansion team, a spokesman for the Rockets confirmed to The Athletic. The prospective team would play its games at the Toyota Center, where the Rockets play.
The bids backed by the Sixers ownership group and Fertitta are the latest entrants in what is expected to be a competitive bidding process to land the WNBA’s 16th team. Tom Gores, the owner of the Detroit Pistons, announced Friday that he is trying to bring a WNBA team back to Detroit. The owners of the Nashville Predators said Thursday that they will try to bring a team to Nashville.
The WNBA has already added three new teams in the last two years, with expansion clubs in the Bay Area, Toronto and Portland. The Golden State Valkyries are set to start play this upcoming season. The Toronto Tempo and the Portland expansion team will begin play in 2026.
Aside from Philadelphia, Nashville and Detroit, potential ownership groups representing Charlotte, Austin, Denver and Houston have all shown public or private interest in getting a WNBA team.
The Sixers announced their intent to bring a WNBA team to Philadelphia earlier this month during a news conference unveiling plans for a new arena in South Philadelphia that will be built in a joint partnership with Comcast Spectator, Sixers owner Josh Harris, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker. The Sixers will be the principal investors and there are plans for other partners if the bid is successful. Comedian Wanda Sykes has been interested in bringing a team to the city and spoke at the news conference about that desire.
The Nashville bid, led by Bill Haslam and his wife Chrissy, went public Thursday. If successful, the team will be called the Tennessee Summitt as a nod to former Tennessee Volunteers coach Pat Summitt. Candace Parker and Peyton Manning would also be part of the ownership group.
The Detroit bid is led by Gores, but would also include Grant Hill, Chris Webber, Jared Goff, Arn Tellem, Mary Barra and Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp, among others. It is trying to bring a WNBA team back to a city that had one until 2009. The Detroit Shock were one of the WNBA’s most successful franchises while it was in town, winning three WNBA titles. But it relocated to Tulsa for the 2010 season.
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