On 2/16/2025 at 7:59 PM, brownsfan1226 said:

Crains story on the previously posted WNBA potential news:

 

Cleveland Rockers 'likely' to return to WNBA in 2028: report

 

https://www.crainscleveland.com/sports-recreation/cleveland-rockers-expected-add-wnba-team-2028

 

"Cleveland’s WNBA team is (reportedly) ready to rock again.

 

Cleveland is likely to be awarded the WNBA’s next franchise for the 2028 season, according to a report on Sunday, Feb. 16, from Sports Business Journal".

I'm actually surprised that the WNBA team would be using the "old" training facility instead of the State of the Art one. I wonder though if that's why we have to wait 3 years, they want to clear out the old facility first so the WNBA team can take over. 

34 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said:

I'm actually surprised that the WNBA team would be using the "old" training facility instead of the State of the Art one. I wonder though if that's why we have to wait 3 years, they want to clear out the old facility first so the WNBA team can take over. 

 

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/pro/cavs/2025/02/16/wnba-franchise-potentially-coming-to-cleveland-via-owner-dan-gilbert-rockers-caitlin-clark/78891807007/

 

From the Akron Beacon Journal:

 

"Dan Gilbert and the Cavs are constructing the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center, part of Gilbert and Bedrock's $3.5-billion Cuyahoga Riverfront Master Plan. The Cavs would operate out of and practice in that facility, while the Rockers would use the Cavs' current training center in Independence. Further updates would be expected from Gilbert to improve the Independence facility as well."

 

I get the impression it's already a very nice facility that will only improve so I would caution people saying it's a "hand-me-down" (although I suppose technically, it is)

 

Edited February 18Feb 18 by Geowizical

12 minutes ago, Geowizical said:

 

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/pro/cavs/2025/02/16/wnba-franchise-potentially-coming-to-cleveland-via-owner-dan-gilbert-rockers-caitlin-clark/78891807007/

 

From the Akron Beacon Journal:

 

"Dan Gilbert and the Cavs are constructing the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center, part of Gilbert and Bedrock's $3.5-billion Cuyahoga Riverfront Master Plan. The Cavs would operate out of and practice in that facility, while the Rockers would use the Cavs' current training center in Independence. Further updates would be expected from Gilbert to improve the Independence facility as well."

 

I get the impression it's already a very nice facility that will only improve so I would caution people saying it's a "hand-me-down" (although I suppose technically, it is)

 

That's why I used said "old" because it is still pretty nice but I thought they wanted to consolidate things downtown. 

All but official.   https://justwomenssports.com/reads/report-cleveland-wins-wnba-expansion-team-bid/

$250 million is a much higher fee than I would've guessed. There are teams in the WNBA who haven't even played yet that payed ~1/5th of what Gilbert did. Cleveland beat out some big markets (Philly, Houston, Miami) to get this team in this round of expansion. Sometimes all you need is a wealthy owner that believes in and is committed to the city. 

 

The WNBA season is expanding from 40 to 44 games for this upcoming season, giving each team 22 home games a season. Right now the WNBA has an average attendance of ~9,800, up from averaging ~6,500-7,500 for most of the 2010s. 

 

If the Rockers have the league average attendance (which could potentially be much higher by 2028 given the current trajectory of the league), they would bring ~220,000 fans over a 5 month period downtown to the Q. It is hard to project what Rocker attendance could look like for the 2028 season, but an average of ~10,000 could be a reasonable figure. Under Gilbert, the Monsters have been growing attendance to a league leading average of over 10,000 in the AHL. The Cavs have also maintained strong numbers even in some dreadful seasons. When compared with other sports team owners, Gilbert is better than the vast majority at building up fan interest/engagement in a team. 

 

If Haslam gets what he wants in Brook Park in time for the end of the lease in 2028, the Rockers could be arriving at a pretty opportune time. It wouldn't entirely make up for losing the Browns to the suburbs, but attendance of ~10,000/game would account for roughly 40% of the Browns fans lost to Brook Park. 

On 2/18/2025 at 11:08 AM, MyPhoneDead said:

On 2/18/2025 at 10:54 AM, Geowizical said:

 

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/pro/cavs/2025/02/16/wnba-franchise-potentially-coming-to-cleveland-via-owner-dan-gilbert-rockers-caitlin-clark/78891807007/

 

From the Akron Beacon Journal:

 

"Dan Gilbert and the Cavs are constructing the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center, part of Gilbert and Bedrock's $3.5-billion Cuyahoga Riverfront Master Plan. The Cavs would operate out of and practice in that facility, while the Rockers would use the Cavs' current training center in Independence. Further updates would be expected from Gilbert to improve the Independence facility as well."

 

I get the impression it's already a very nice facility that will only improve so I would caution people saying it's a "hand-me-down" (although I suppose technically, it is)

 

Expand  

That's why I used said "old" because it is still pretty nice but I thought they wanted to consolidate things downtown. 

 

Ya the Independence facility is still very nice, even without whatever modifications Gilbert has planned. There are a number of teams in the NBA that have only single court training facilities, with a few teams using a facility attached to their home arenas (Memphis, Denver). Within the WNBA itself, I believe the Aces are the only team with a dedicated practice facility. 

 

The Rockers facility will not only be better than a number of teams in the NBA, it'll arguably be one of the best facilities solely for a professional Women's sports team anywhere. 

yea - arenas definitely seem to be best bang for you buck as far as these sports facilities go. AHL - 36 regular season home games at 10k, wba - 22 regular season home games at 10, NBA 41 regular season home games at 20k get you to 1.4 million over 99 dates.  plus pre/post season; concerts; other events.   (these are optimistic numbers, but still)

 

browns are only putting 67k butts in the seats per game during the best of times.  

13 minutes ago, Whipjacka said:

yea - arenas definitely seem to be best bang for you buck as far as these sports facilities go. AHL - 36 regular season home games at 10k, wba - 22 regular season home games at 10, NBA 41 regular season home games at 20k get you to 1.4 million over 99 dates.  plus pre/post season; concerts; other events.   (these are optimistic numbers, but still)

 

browns are only putting 67k butts in the seats per game during the best of times.  

WNBA plays a 40 game schedule, so that is 20 home games

18 minutes ago, simplythis said:

WNBA plays a 40 game schedule, so that is 20 home games

 

On 2/20/2025 at 10:19 AM, NorthShore647 said:

The WNBA season is expanding from 40 to 44 games for this upcoming season, giving each team 22 home games a season.