Detroit's WNBA bid tied to empty industrial site
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Pistons owner Tom Gores at a game against the Clippers in Los Angeles. Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Pistons owner Tom Gores wants to transform a prime piece of riverfront land near Belle Isle into a WNBA practice facility and youth recreation center as part of his quest to return the expanding league to the city.
Why it matters: A new professional women's basketball team would add to the city's thriving sports-based economy and tourism.
State of play: Detroit is competing with Nashville, Philadelphia, Cleveland and other big cities to land a new WNBA team as the league's popularity explodes behind the arrival of superstars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
The intrigue: Billionaire Dan Gilbert, whose investments have helped restore downtown Detroit and beyond, is not involved in the city's WNBA bid, a spokesperson for Gilbert's Bedrock firm tells Axios Detroit.
- His Rocket Entertainment Group submitted a bid for Cleveland, where Gilbert owns the NBA's Cavaliers.
- Analysts have speculated that multiple cities could be granted new teams.
Driving the news: On March 11, the city canceled long-stalled development plans at the former Uniroyal site in the heart of the city's riverfront, opening the door for Gores and his group of potential WNBA investors to plot a team practice facility there alongside a new recreation site for football, soccer and other sports.
What they're saying: Mayor Mike Duggan spoke excitedly about Gores' plans for the long-vacant Uniroyal site in his State of the City speech on Tuesday.
- Gores' plan for Uniroyal would help fulfill Duggan's vision for a long-term overhaul of the city's riverfront.
- "This is the one that's always bugged me," Duggan said of the Uniroyal site. Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem and Gores "are leading a group to make this Detroit's finest recreation site."
- A source familiar with the matter confirmed to Axios that Uniroyal is a potential site for a WNBA practice facility and sports complex.
Flashback: Gores submitted a bid in January to bring back the WNBA to Detroit on behalf of an ownership group that includes his wife Holly, Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp, GM CEO Mary Barra and others.
- The Detroit Shock, the city's prior WNBA team, moved to Tulsa for the 2010 season.
Zoom out: The group trying to bring a WNBA team to Nashville is making contingency plans if their bid for a new franchise fails, our colleagues at Axios Nashville reported.
- The new ownership group, led by the Haslam family, could pivot to purchasing an existing franchise that's struggling financially.
What's next: Any Uniroyal redevelopment plan would require City Council approval, but a potential timeline and development costs are not yet known, the Free Press reported.