Rockets owner eyes WNBA expansion team in Houston

Field Level Media|published: 09/19/2024, 12:07pm EDT

Jan 20, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta walks on the court during the game against the Utah Jazz at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta plans to submit a bid to bring a WNBA expansion team back to Houston, the Houston Chronicle reported Thursday.

The bid includes using the branding of the Houston Comets, one of the WNBA's original eight teams that played from 1997-2008 and won the league's first four championships with stars Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson.

The current 14-team league is adding teams in Portland and Toronto in 2026 and the timing of bringing a franchise back to Houston is "unclear at the moment," per the report.

"I have been in active conversations with the league about the opportunity to bring a WNBA expansion team back to Houston," Fertitta said in a statement to Chron.com on Thursday. "There is such great excitement surrounding the WNBA and women's sports, and with Houston's passionate and dedicated fan base it makes us an ideal fit."

Fertitta is expected to face significant bidding competition from ownership groups in Denver, Nashville, Philadelphia and Miami, per the report.

Fertitta already has the infrastructure in place, as he and the Rockets own the Toyota Center and the Rockets jointly own regional sports television network Space City Home Network.

--Field Level Media