For the first time since 2009, Motor City is going to have its own WNBA team to call its own!
The return of the Detroit Shock, one of the WNBA’s top-performing franchises in the mid-2000s, has basketball fans around the D as excited as ever about the future of Detroit’s sports scene.
When is the WNBA returning to Detroit?
Unfortunately for Detroiters, the expansion process agreed upon by the WNBA and its Board of Governors will take place over a few-year period.
The three cities that have now been formally granted expansion teams by the WNBA will be competing in their respective first seasons one year after the other.
The first expansion team to compete in the WNBA will be Cleveland in 2028, followed by Detroit in 2029, and finally, Philadelphia will make its WNBA debut in 2030.
Where is Detroit’s WNBA team going to play?
According to reports, Detroit’s WNBA team will be playing its home games at Little Caesars Arena!
This means that for the first time ever, Little Caesars Arena will be the home to three separate professional sports teams.
Fortunately, it’s not uncommon for many cities to have one arena that is shared by three teams, so by 2029, it’s safe to assume that the logistics for all three teams competing at the same stadium will be worked out.
What is the team going to be called?
While it will be 20 years since the franchise left by the time Detroit’s WNBA team finally returns, there is no word yet to confirm whether or not the team will go by the team’s original name, the Detroit Shock.
The Detroit Shock was one of the WNBA’s top franchises in the mid-2000s, winning titles in 2003, 2006, and 2008, so there’s a decent chance that the franchise will want to acknowledge its own history of success.
