Earlier this month, Sophie Cunningham angered many Midwest sports fans by criticizing the WNBA’s decision to open expansion franchises in Detroit, Cleveland, and Philadelphia.
“You want to listen to your players. Where do they want to play? You don’t want teams to totally dominate then have teams that aren’t. It’s a hard situation, but I don’t know how excited people are to go to Detroit or (Cleveland),” Cunningham said.
Although her idea of listening to the players’ preferences instead of the fans is flawed, Cunningham was heading toward a valid point: Can Detroit really get excited about a WNBA franchise after the Detroit Shock made such a hasty exit in 2009?
The City of Detroit X account posted the following statement in response to Cunningham:
“The last time we were home to a WNBA team (Detroit Shock) we ranked top five in attendance for five straight seasons, No. 1 in attendance for three straight seasons and set a single-game attendance record of 22,076 fans at Game 3 of the 2003 WNBA Finals. Additionally, more than 775,000 people were excited to come to Detroit for the 2024 NFL draft. Detroit is a sports town. We’re sure we’ll see the same excitement for the WNBA returning.”
For those who may not be sports fans, comparing the WNBA to the NFL draft is essentially comparing a horse carriage to a Ferrari. Also, if the team was so successful, why did ownership pick up and move so quickly after winning a championship?
Another major supporter of the expansion was Arm Tellem, vice chairman of the Detroit Pistons. In an op-ed for the Detroit Free Press, he wrote:
“Ten years ago, in a pivotal meeting with Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores, he laid the foundation for an ambitious vision—one without boundaries or limitations… Now, we’re writing the next chapter with the return of the WNBA to Detroit. This team will bring a new generation of sports stars to the city and inspire girls to dream big about the possibilities of success on and off the court.”
As inspirational as a successful women’s athletic franchise would be for the city, can fans really trust the guy whose head they were calling for when the Pistons were in the bottom of the NBA standings for so long?
Akin to the 1980s Michigan Panthers, the Shock ownership group decided to move the franchise to Tulsa only a year after winning the WNBA championship. At that time, the Shock had been playing at The Palace of Auburn Hills, which covered their upper deck sections with curtains for most Shock games, expecting small turnouts. In 2003, the Shock set a WNBA record for the most fans in attendance at one game with 22,076 fans, which, although impressive, was only 2,000 more than the average attendance for the Pistons that year.
Viewership of the WNBA has skyrocketed since the debut of superstar Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever and seems to only be able to hit its peak numbers when she’s on the court. WNBA viewership hit its peak in late 2024, with 1.8 million viewers watching Clark take on the Connecticut Sun during the 2024 playoffs. The next highest viewed game? Just 929,000.
Without a Caitlin Clark-level superstar, it is incredibly unlikely that a WNBA team can thrive in Detroit. If a team coached by Piston legend Bill Laimbeer could only draw an average of 9,500 fans during a championship season in 2008, what is going to make this new franchise so different?
Alex Deimel is a contributing writer for Michigan Enjoyer.
