Detroit Lions fans have chanted Jared Goff’s name in front of just about every sports team in the city. Thanks to the quarterback, fans might soon be able to start Goff chants at a WNBA game in Detroit.
Goff and his wife, Christen Harper Goff, are part of an investment group that announced a bid on Jan. 31 to bring a WNBA expansion team to Detroit.
Lions’ Jared Goff Spearheading Effort To Bring WNBA Back to Detroit
Along with Goff, both Lions owner Sheila Hamp and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores of the NBA are part of the same investment group aiming to bring women’s professional basketball back to Detroit. Gores officially submitted the bid for an expansion team to the WNBA.
“This is an exciting opportunity to welcome the WNBA back to Detroit and bring additional investment and economic activity into the city,” Gores wrote in a statement. “For the WNBA this is home, and our bid represents an unprecedented opportunity for the league to come full circle and effect a long-hoped-for Detroit homecoming. No city is more prepared to embrace the team as a community asset that drives unity and common ground.”
On behalf of an exceptional ownership group, an expansive coalition of civic and business leaders and an excited fan base that embraced the WNBA for many years, @DetroitPistons Owner Tom Gores submitted on Thursday a formal bid to bring the league back to Detroit. pic.twitter.com/y1klJRmQ0t
— Pistons PR (@Pistons_PR) January 31, 2025
The Detroit investment group plans to build a dedicated practice facility and headquarters for the expansion team. The facility will include courts, locker rooms, and workout areas along with office and lounge space.
The team would play its home games at Little Caesars Arena, which is already home to the NBA’s Pistons and NHL’s Detroit Red Wings.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer strongly support Goff and his group’s effort to bring a WNBA expansion team to the city.
“Michiganders are fired up,” Whitmer said. “Our passion for our teams and players is unmatched, our commitment to our communities remains unwavering, and our vision for women’s sports is crystal clear. My administration stands ready to support this franchise’s success.”
Detroit’s Previous History in the WNBA
With their bid, Goff and his investment group are trying to bring women’s professional basketball back to Detroit. The city had one of the first WNBA expansion teams, the Detroit Shock, established in 1998, which was two years after the league was founded.
From 2003-08, the Shock won three WNBA championships. During their existence, the Shock led the WNBA in season attendance three times and set a single-game attendance record in Game 3 of the 2003 WNBA Finals.
But after the 2009 season, the team was sold to an investment group that then moved the organization to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Following the 2015 campaign, the team moved again to Dallas and was re-nicknamed the Wings.
While in Detroit, the Shock played their games at The Palace of Auburn Hills, which is the former home of the Pistons.
Goff, who finished second in PFN’s QB+ metric during the 2024 season, helping bring the WNBA back to Detroit could become one of the best feel-good sports stories this year. But Detroit will have competition.
Cleveland announced its bid for a WNBA franchise in November 2024. Nashville, Tenn., also announced a bid on Jan. 30. Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker are in the investment group to bring the league to Nashville.
The women’s basketball league will welcome three new expansion teams over the next two seasons in Golden State (San Francisco), Portland, Ore., and Toronto. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has told reporters she wants to add another team, the 16th for the league, before the start of the 2028 season.
