Rockets’ Toyota Center to Undergo Changes, Transformation for WNBA’s Comets

This is significant.

Apr 15, 2018; Houston, TX, USA; General view of shirts on the seats of Toyota Center before game one of the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs between the Houston Rockets and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Comets are coming back. It’s official now, after both the NBA and WNBA’s governing boards signed off on the purchase of the team by Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta from the Mohegan Tribe. The Rockets owner shelled out $300 million in the deal for the current Connecticut Sun – a record-setting price for a WNBA franchise.

The board simultaneously approved the relocation of the franchise from Connecticut to Houston. The move will take effect next year in 2027, uniting the city of Houston with the Comets for the first time since 2008.

The Rockets’ brain trust will be renovating the Toyota Center, in preparation for the Comets’ official reunion. The locker room will be undergoing an expansion, in addition to the practice and training facilities.

Rockets president Gretchen Sheirr explained the changes that will be taking place, during the introductory following the official announcement of the Comets’ purchase and relocation.

“As soon as everyone leaves here today, I’m not kidding, walls are coming down and construction will start. We will renovate the existing basketball infrastructure that’s here. This is where they will practice. Toyota Center is their home. We are adding locker rooms, a training area for them, all on the service level behind us.

The permits are filed, and we’re going to start really soon so that when their season is over and they start to move here in the offseason, the facilities will be ready.”

During the presser, Rockets chairman Patrick Fertitta explained the significance of the team’s rebrand from the Sun to the Comets.

“The Comets are so synonymous with women’s basketball and the WNBA and this town. And it just felt like it honestly didn’t make a lot of sense to go any other direction. There is such a special brand and identity that already exists. There’s such history and nostalgia. And for us, it wouldn’t feel right to have a different name and a different brand than the Houston Comets playing in the WNBA.”

Of course, long-time Houstonians remember the Oilers leaving, and even with the Texans coming in, they couldn't bring back the name or history.

I ask Patrick Fertitta how important it was for them to bring the name back, along with the great history.

“It wouldn't feel right to… pic.twitter.com/VYMxPYMNhg

— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) May 14, 2026

The Comets have a rich tradition, having won four championships in each of their first four years of existence and have produced a wide array of Hall of Famers, including Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson, Cynthia Cooper and coach Van Chancellor.

All in all, the Comets are a great treat for WNBA fans, but especially for Houstonians, as the city of Houston has been clamoring for the return of the franchise.