Nashville Is Late Entry to WNBA Expansion Jockeying With Powerhouse Bid

Candace Parker, Peyton Manning, and Predators owner Bill Haslam and his wife Crissy are the face of a strong bid for a WNBA team in Nashville honoring the late Tennessee Vols legend Pat Summitt.

The team would be called the Tennessee Summitt and play at Bridgestone Arena starting in 2028. The bid also includes plans to build the team a practice facility.

Haslam is also the former governor of Tennessee and takes full control of the NHL’s Predators in July. Country music power couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are also part of the bid. Parker and Manning are two of the best-known athletes to come out of the University of Tennessee. The Haslams would be the team’s controlling owners, and the former politician said public funding wouldn’t be used for the team. The group filed their bid Thursday, according to The Tennessean, which first reported the news. 

Summitt stands as one of the most influential basketball figures of all time, having led the University of Tennessee to eight national championships and a 1,098–208 record in her 38 seasons as head coach. She died in 2016, four years after retiring, following an early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

“Tennessee is the DNA of everything women’s basketball stands for,” former WNBA star Parker said. “I’m excited to be part of the group working to bring a WNBA team to the state and honor Coach Summitt’s legacy.”

Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena is an important part of this bid. The downtown venue can seat 18,500 fans for basketball games in a market that doesn’t already have a basketball or major women’s sports team. And it’s a city that’s hungry for new teams—Nashville SC joined MLS in 2020, and was top-five in the league in attendance last season. 

The other big commitment is the plan for a dedicated practice facility, something all three recent expansion bids in Golden State, Toronto, and Portland also had. As WNBA players fight to set a standard for facilities across the league, it’s unlikely the league would choose a city that couldn’t offer a dedicated training space.

But as strong, star-studded, and sentimental as the Nashville bid might be, it’s up against stiff competition. More than a dozen other cities have expressed interest in bringing in a WNBA franchise, and commissioner Cathy Engelbert has been clear about wanting to add only four teams during this round of expansion, leaving just one spot remaining. 

Patrick Mahomes is behind efforts in Kansas City, as is Jayson Tatum in St. Louis. Owners of the Rockets, Bucks, Pistons, and 76ers have all submitted a bid or expressed interest in getting a team for their cities.

Haslam also said he would be interested in taking the team on road games around the state to Knoxville—home of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame—Memphis, and Summitt’s hometown of Clarksville. Before he was governor, Haslam grew up and was mayor of Knoxville, where the university is based, during Summitt’s coaching tenure.

“It’s kind of fun to give a personal tribute to somebody I’m both a fan of and was a friend of mine,” Haslam said. “You think Pat Summitt and you think excellence in everything, from the court to how [her players] handled themselves off the court, and what they’ve gone to do since then.”