Lions Help Bring WNBA Team Back to Detroit

Prominent members of Lions' organization part of group bringing WNBA team to Detroit.

Detroit Lions principal owner and chair Sheila Ford Hamp. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The city of Detroit will be adding another professional sports team into the mix.

On Monday, it was announced that the investing group led by Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores and featuring Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff and team owner Sheila Hamp had landed a WNBA expansion team beginning in the 2029 season.

The bid was submitted by Gores in January, and will give Detroit a WNBA team for the first time since the Detroit Shock left for Tulsa in 2010.

The Shock have since rebranded to the Dallas Wings, a team that features 2025 No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers.

"This is a huge win for Detroit and the WNBA. Today makes the long-hoped-for return of the WNBA to a city with deep basketball roots and a championship tradition," Gores said in a statement provided to the Detroit Free Press. "Detroit played a key role in the league's early growth, and we're proud to reignite that legacy as the WNBA ascends to new heights. Our plays will bring new energy, investment and infrastructure to our city and the WNBA, and additional resources to our community."

The team will also have a new practice facility and team headquarters that will be built on the Detroit riverfront, reportedly at the old Uniroyal site west of the Belle Isle bridge.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told the Detroit Free Press that the new expansion team in Detroit will keep the history of the Shock, though it is uncertain whether the new squad will assume the same name. During its time in Detroit, the team won three championships.

In addition to Gores, Goff and Hamp, investors backing the expansion team include former NBA players Grant Hill and Chris Webber, popular Detroit music artist Eminem and General Motors CEO Mary Barra.

As the league continues its expansion, teams will also be added in Cleveland in 2028 and Philadelphia in 2030. There will also be two new teams, in Portland and Toronto, in the 2026 season.