Charlotte's new pro women's basketball team reveals name and head coach
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Charlotte Crown is the city's new professional women's basketball team, which will debut in May 2026 as part of the UpShot League.
Why it matters: Women's sports are on the rise, with new leagues like UpShot creating more avenues for women to play and for some to ultimately reach the WNBA.
What they're saying: "The UpShot League is a league truly made for this moment," UpShot League commissioner and co-founder Donna Orender said during Thursday's announcement.
Context: Charlotte Crown will be one of the inaugural teams in the UpShot League, joining franchises in Jacksonville, Fla.; Savannah, Ga.; and Greensboro.
- The team will play 17 regular-season games at Bojangles Coliseum from May to August.
- Former WNBA player Trisha Stafford-Odom has been named head coach. She also coached at Duke, North Carolina Central and UNC. Stafford-Odom will scout local talent at college games around town, she tells Axios.
- Season ticket deposits are $44 and available now.
Between the lines: UpShot is a developmental league for athletes aspiring to play in the WNBA. Two more teams will be announced in early 2026.
Flashback: This won't be the first time Charlotte has had professional women's basketball. The Charlotte Sting, which was owned by the same group as the Bobcats (now the Charlotte Hornets), played in the WNBA and folded in the early 2000s.
Context: Florida-based Zawyer Sports & Entertainment, which also owns the Charlotte Checkers and Gastonia Ghost Peppers, owns the team.
- It's an eight-figure investment per UpShot team, and all four franchises are fully funded, Zawyer Sports CEO and owner Andy Kaufmann tells Axios. He declined to disclose the exact amount. "You'll see new ownership groups come in as we add expansion teams to the league," Kaufmann said.
What's next: Zawyer Sports & Entertainment is committed to building facilities for each of its teams, Kaufmann said.
- A 90,000-square-foot basketball facility with eight courts would cost roughly $20 million, he says.
- A 100,000-square-foot hockey facility with two sheets of ice for the Checkers would cost around $30 million, excluding land acquisition costs.
- The timeline and exact location for the facilities are TBD, but Kaufmann did say historically it has taken around four seasons.
Case in point: Zawyer Sports & Entertainment has made similar commitments to its teams in Jacksonville and Savannah. It recently opened "The Igloo" in Jacksonville, an NHL-sized ice rink.
- A 5,000-seat amphitheater in Savannah called "The Ice Cove" will be complete in September, Kaufmann says.