Could the WNBA be returning to Houston after all?
This week the WNBA awarded its 15th franchise to Portland, which will begin play in 2026, marking the first time the league is returning to a market it was previously in.
But the Portland Fire folded after three seasons, while the Houston Comets won the league’s first four titles from 1997 to 2000 and set attendance records years before the WNBA was what it is today.
The Comets folded in 2008, but despite their success, Houston hasn’t been mentioned as a possible expansion team despite being the largest market in the country in which the league is absent.
Until now?
Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, who has a net worth of around $13.8 billion, according to Bloomberg, had previously expressed interest in bringing a WNBA team back to the city. The billionaire businessman has been in discussions with the league and plans to make a bid for its 16th and final expansion team for now. In April, Fertitta told the Houston Chronicle he was interested in bringing a WNBA team to Houston in addition to an NHL team, but the city’s sports authority and tourism arms were in the dark on the matter. His communication with the league was unknown, too.
But Thursday, Fertitta doubled down on his interest and said he’s been in talks with the WNBA.
“I have been in active conversations with the league about the opportunity to bring a WNBA expansion team back to Houston,” Fertitta, CEO of restaurant chain Landry’s, said in a statement to Chron.com. “There is such great excitement surrounding the WNBA and women’s sports, and with Houston’s passionate and dedicated fan base, it makes us an ideal fit.”
Spokespeople for Fertitta and the Harris County – Houston Sports Authority did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The timing for the expansion bid and awarding process is unknown, but Houston’s proof of concept and market size bode well for the city despite entering the expansion talks later in the game. Philadelphia, Miami, Denver, and Austin have been mentioned as candidates for the 16th franchise, but none have the proof of concept that Houston has. Similar to the Fire, the Miami Sol played three seasons in the WNBA from 2000 to 2002 without much success.
The Comets won the WNBA’s first four titles, powered by three legends—Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson, and Cynthia Cooper—while regularly selling out its arena. The team folded because of poor finances in 2008, right when the league was adding the Atlanta Dream as an expansion team. The Dream were the last franchise to join the league, before the Golden State Valkyries, Toronto, and Portland were all recently awarded expansion bids.
“I wasn’t too happy about it,” Swoopes said of the Comets’ demise Thursday to The Arizona Republic. “It’s really sad to see a team that was so dominant at the beginning of the WNBA winning four straight back-to-back-to-back-to-back championships to know that we don’t have a place that we can call home where we played, and a place where we can retire our jerseys. So for me, it’s a little disappointing that Houston no longer has a team.”
At the press conference announcing the Portland franchise, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league is open to returning to other markets. While Fertitta is preparing a bid later than other cities, his relationship with fellow NBA owners—many of whom also own a WNBA team—and his reputation should aid his own cause.
“We’ve been aware of ongoing discussions to bring a WNBA team back to Houston and we’re very supportive of such a move,” said Michael Heckman, the CEO of Houston First, the city’s tourism arm, in a statement to FOS. “We would love to see the WNBA back in Houston and a hospitality leader like Tillman Fertitta is just the kind of player to make it happen.”
