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Nearly 30 years ago, the WNBA was founded with eight teams in the league.
The Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets, New York Liberty, Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs, Utah Starzz…
And the Charlotte Sting.
Only three of these teams (Liberty, Sparks, and Mercury) remain in the league today. A fourth, the Utah Starzz, are now the present day Las Vegas Aces.
Currently, there are 13 teams in the league. There are 7 teams in the Western Conference, 6 in the Eastern Conference. Two months ago, the league announced that there would be a “major expansion” to 18 teams. Toronto and Portland will join in 2026, Cleveland in 2028, Detroit in 2029, and Philadelphia in 2030.
“The demand for women’s basketball has never been higher,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.
It’s the truth. Nearly a decade ago it was rare for me to see a WNBA shirt or jersey in a public setting. I now routinely see Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, and countless others being worn in public.
The league has seen record fan attendance, selling out tickets to the WNBA Draft within minutes. There’s record television viewership, with fans from across the globe tuning in to see stars like Clark and Reese battle it out, and a large media rights deal is set to begin in 2026.
The W wants to capatalize on it’s current success, so why not further expansion?
One of the league’s original eight teams, the Charlotte Sting, should make it’s grand return to the WNBA.
The Charlotte Sting have not existed since 2007, after an investment group from Kansas City tried and failed to move the team there. The franchise was successful during it’s time, making the playoffs six times and a finals appearance in 2001.
“This is a gold mine. This is special,” Taj Gibson said in his exit interviews for the Charlotte Hornets last season. It’s the truth. Charlotte is a basketball gold mine.
A month and a half ago I wrote an article detailing why Charlotte deserves playoff basketball.
The city truly is a goldmine. They welcome their players with open arms, and the atmosphere at every game truly feels like it’s a playoff game. It could be a random Wednesday in December, and the stands will be packed with fans cheering on their favorite team to win.
Not only does the city love basketball, they love women’s basketball.
When Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes played a game in Charlotte in fall 2023, there was an announced crowd of 15,196 people in the Spectrum Center. It was the most-attended regular season women’s college basketball game in the state of North Carolina.
So why not bring a team to Charlotte? There are fans hungry for more basketball, and fans who want to see the stars of women’s basketball in the city.
It’s time the Sting make their grand return.
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