When the WNBA awarded Cleveland an expansion franchise on June 30, 2025, it marked the return of professional women’s basketball to a city that had waited more than two decades for another chance.
Nearly a year later, that vision took another major step forward as the organization officially unveiled its identity and its ambitious plans for the future.
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Cleveland Sirens Reveal Big Plans for WNBA’s Newest Expansion Franchise
Speaking before an enthusiastic crowd Tuesday at Rocket Arena, home of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, a team executive laid out a bold blueprint for what will become the WNBA’s 16th franchise when it begins play in 2028.
The city’s original franchise, the Cleveland Rockers, was one of the WNBA’s eight inaugural teams in 1997. Despite reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2000, the franchise folded three years later because of financial struggles, declining attendance, and then-owner Gordon Gund’s inability to find a buyer.
That changed in 2005 when Dan Gilbert purchased the Cleveland Cavaliers from Gund, laying the foundation for the WNBA’s eventual return to the city.
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Gilbert reportedly invested $250 million, twice the amount paid by the Portland Fire, to secure Cleveland’s expansion franchise.
According to Grant Gilbert, Rock Entertainment Group’s VP of business and basketball operations and son of Dan Gilbert, the expansion fee is only the beginning of the organization’s commitment.
“We truly believe that this is going to be a big-market team. … We are going to invest at the highest level just as we do with everything else. We’re going to pour every resource into player development, team building, and staff and everything that comes with having a hyper-competitive team year over year,” Grant said.
That investment reflects the league’s rapidly rising value. According to Front Office Sports in June 2025, the true cost of joining the WNBA now extends well over the expansion fee.
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“A league source added that the true financial commitment of the latest expansion teams is more than $300 million when factoring in the cost of facilities,” FOS reported.
The franchise has also unveiled its permanent identity. Cleveland’s newest WNBA team will be known as the Sirens, a name selected after an extensive process.
“We had focus groups, we had surveys and many, many conversations in the community. And all those conversations just keep validating that Sirens was it,” Allison Howard, the team’s business operations head, said.
The official branding launch also paid tribute to the city’s WNBA history. Former Rockers star Janice Braxton, who played for the franchise from 1997 to 1999, introduced the Sirens’ name and the team’s slogan, “Hear the Call,” to an appreciative crowd.
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Several of her former Rockers teammates were also on hand for the ceremony, symbolically linking Cleveland’s basketball past with its new beginning.
Following the unveiling, Howard expressed confidence that Cleveland’s fan base would embrace the franchise from day one.
With unprecedented financial backing, state-of-the-art resources, and renewed excitement across the city, the Sirens are determined to accomplish what their predecessors never could and bring a WNBA championship to Cleveland.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
