(Reuters) – Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert plans to submit a proposal for a new WNBA team, CNBC reported on Wednesday, more than 20 years after the city’s previous team folded.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has said she hopes to see the league expand to 16 teams by 2028 and recently announced that teams in Toronto and Portland will begin play in 2026.
Another expansion team, the Golden State Valkyries, will join next season.
The announcement comes amid a surge of interest in the WNBA driven by a popular rookie class including Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.
Clark sent television ratings sky-rocketing during her final year at Iowa where she broke the all-time collegiate scoring record before earning Rookie of the Year honors in her debut WNBA season.
The WNBA and Gilbert’s Rock Entertainment Group did not respond to requests for comment.
Cleveland hosted one of the league’s original franchises, the Rockers, but the team folded in 2003 with the previous owner blaming poor attendances.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Ed Osmond)
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