{"id":570889,"date":"2026-03-30T14:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T14:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/570889\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T14:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T14:40:12","slug":"wnba-may-return-to-houston-as-comets-revival-plans-take-shape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/570889\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA may return to Houston as Comets revival plans take shape"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Houston could soon see the return of the Comets as a plan to relocate a WNBA team to the city targets a 2027 debut at Toyota Center.<\/p>\n<p>HOUSTON \u2014 The WNBA could soon return to Houston, with plans to revive one of the league\u2019s most historic franchises and begin play within the next few years.<\/p>\n<p>Fertitta Entertainment, led by Houston Rockets owner Tilman J. Fertitta, has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.khou.com\/article\/sports\/wnba\/houston-comets-wnba\/285-8c131032-c7f9-461c-a498-6163e9b39a50\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">entered into an agreement\u00a0<\/a>to purchase the WNBA\u2019s Connecticut Sun. The deal includes plans to relocate the team to Houston and bring back the Houston Comets name.<\/p>\n<p>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.khou.com\/article\/sports\/wnba\/houston-comets-wnba\/285-8c131032-c7f9-461c-a498-6163e9b39a50\" class=\"cms__embed-related-story__link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Houston&#8217;s WNBA dynasty may be making a comeback. Here&#8217;s what we know<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Pending league approval, the franchise is expected to begin play at Toyota Center for the start of the 2027 WNBA season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy family and I are thrilled for the opportunity to bring the Houston Comets back to this incredible city,\u201d said Rockets Alternate Governor Patrick Fertitta. \u201cHouston has a proud championship history in the WNBA, with banners from the Comets\u2019 four historic championship seasons still hanging in the rafters of Toyota Center. We believe the time is right to begin the next great era of Comets basketball, and we look forward to working with the WNBA as we move through this process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The move would mark the return of a franchise that helped define the early years of the WNBA.<\/p>\n<p>The Houston Comets were one of the league\u2019s original eight teams and quickly became a dynasty, winning the WNBA\u2019s first four championships. During their 12 seasons from 1997 to 2008, the Comets made nine playoff appearances.<\/p>\n<p>The team featured several standout players, including Hall of Famers Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson, along with former head coach Van Chancellor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an exciting time for our organization as we welcome the WNBA back to the City of Houston and revive the legacy of the Comets,\u201d said President of Business Operations Gretchen Sheirr. \u201cThe momentum and enthusiasm have been evident through the overwhelming interest from fans and the business community, all eager to support the return of this franchise. It is a true testament to the continued growth and investment in women\u2019s sports, which deserve a place on the world\u2019s biggest stages. We cannot wait for the Comets to begin their next chapter &#8211; reigniting the passion of their loyal fans while inspiring a new generation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That return effort is already beginning to take shape.<\/p>\n<p>Fans can visit houstoncomets.com to place a $99 per seat deposit for priority access to season tickets. The site also offers sign-ups for updates and official WNBA Houston merchandise as preparations move forward.<\/p>\n<p>If approved, the move would bring professional women\u2019s basketball back to Houston for the first time in nearly two decades, marking a new chapter for a franchise with deep roots in the city\u2019s sports history.<\/p>\n<p>Got a news tip or story idea? Email us at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.khou.com\/article\/sports\/wnba\/houston-comets-return-wnba-fertitta-connecticut-sun\/mailto:newstips@khou.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">newstips@khou.com<\/a>\u00a0or call 713-521-4310 and include the best way to reach you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Houston could soon see the return of the Comets as a plan to relocate a WNBA team to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-570889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/566181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}