The WNBA has been expanding at a relatively rapid rate in recent years, and while Philadelphia isn’t the next in line to add a new team, it reportedly isn’t too far behind, writes Jonathan Tannenwald for the Philadelphia Business Journal.
On Sunday, Feb. 16, the Sports Business Journal reported that Cleveland will likely be getting the WNBA’s next franchise in 2028. It would mark a return to the city, as the city previously hosted one of the league’s original teams — the Cleveland Rockers — from 1997 to 2003.
Cleveland joins San Francisco, Portland, and Toronto as the immediate cities that are getting a WNBA team, but the report claims that Philadelphia is likely to eventually join that list.
Comcast will likely be a key player in this coming to fruition.
The Philadelphia-based media conglomerate acquired WNBA broadcast rights in a deal that starts in 2026 as part of an 11-year, $2.5 billion NBA package that starts in the 2025-26 NBA season.
“When you have Comcast throwing their weight around, wanting something, and they’re already in the league for tens of billions of dollars, you know it’s real,” a source told the Sports Business Journal.
The publication reported that there are 13 WNBA expansion bids happening at the moment.
Read more about the potential of Philadelphia becoming an WNBA expansion city at The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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