Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp and Jared Goff to help bring the WNBA back to Detroit in 2029
At one point, the WNBA's best team was right here in Detroit. The Detroit Shock won three WNBA championships in the early 2000s and was coached by Bill Laimbeer, who was connected to the Bad Boy Pistons era. In 2009, the team moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in a move that's been characterized as a failure […]
At one point, the WNBA's best team was right here in Detroit. The Detroit Shock won three WNBA championships in the early 2000s and was coached by Bill Laimbeer, who was connected to the Bad Boy Pistons era.
In 2009, the team moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in a move that's been characterized as a failure by the WNBA and not so much the city of Detroit. In recent years, the WNBA's popularity has grown significantly, and there's been a call for the WNBA to come back to Detroit.
Now we know that the WNBA is on its way back to Detroit in 2029 per WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert, and the Detroit Lions have a hand in making that happen.
Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp and her husband Steve Hamp, are part of an all-star group of investors helping revive women's pro basketball in Detroit.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff and his wife, Christen Goff, are also investors in this project.
Pistons owner Tom Gores heads up the group that also features:
- Grant Hill and Tamia Hill
- Sheila Hamp and Steve Hamp
- Mary Barra and Tony Barra
- Arn Tellem and Nancy Tellem
- Chris Webber
- Roger Ehrenberg and Carin Ehrenberg
- Ethan Davidson and Gretchen Davidson
- Denise Ilitch
- KC Crain and Ashley Crain
- Larry Brinker Jr.
- Andra Rush
- Sandy Pierce
- Steve Jbara
- Beth Chappell
- Mindi Fynke
- Suzanne Shank
- Matthew and Karen Cullen
- Sportsology Capital Partners
What a group. There was an attempt to get the WNBA back in Detroit by this group in January of this year, but the league chose to go with Cleveland first. Now we know Detroit is next in line.
As far as what this team is going to be called, per the AP report, investors will consider keeping the Shock name, but will also do their due diligence on other names.
This will be the third professional sports team that Ford Hamp and her husband will be involved with. They brought in a professional golf team in May.
Eric Ebron was at the Detroit Lions’ facility on Sunday, why the former 10th overall pick was in Allen Park
Way back in 2014, the Detroit Lions made maybe one of their most "controversial" draft picks in their history when they drafted North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron with the 10th pick in the NFL Draft. Controversial is in quotation marks because, in my opinion, everything about this pick has been blown out of the […]
