• GM CEO Mary Barra is part of a group of investors trying to bring a WNBA team to Detroit.
  • The bid is being led by Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores and includes Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp.
  • If the bid is approved, the new team would play at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

The WNBA is often the butt of jokes, but a bid for a Detroit team has attracted several high-profile investors. These reportedly include GM CEO Mary Barra, Sheila Ford Hamp, and KC Crain (CEO of Crain Communications, which owns Automotive News, Automobilwoche, and other publications).

The bid is being led by Tom and Holly Gores, who own the Detroit Pistons. A number of professional athletes are also involved including Grant Hill and Chris Webber as well as Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. There are also a number of other investors, including the spouses of some people mentioned above.

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In a press release, Gores said “This is an exciting opportunity to welcome the WNBA back to Detroit and bring additional investment and economic activity into the city.” He added the bid “represents an unprecedented opportunity for the league to come full circle and effect a long-hoped-for Detroit homecoming.”

That’s a not so subtle reference to the Detroit Shock, which were added as part of the first WNBA expansion. The team set numerous attendance records and won three titles during their roughly decade long run.

GM CEO Mary Barra Part Of Bid For Detroit WNBA Team

However, in 2009, the team announced they were relocating to Tulsa, Oklahoma. That was a perplexing move and they didn’t stick around long as they eventually became the Dallas Wings a few years later.

If approved, Detroit’s new WNBA team would play at Little Caesars Arena, which is already home to the Pistons and Red Wings. While the team would play at an existing facility, the bid calls for the construction of a dedicated practice facility and team headquarters with designated courts, locker rooms, and workout facilities. There’s also a public sports center component, which is envisioned to include a youth development academy as well as “public-facing youth basketball courts, volleyball courts and multi-purpose fields for soccer, football and lacrosse, complete with spectator seating.”