By Cameron Lee
February 11, 2025
The Hornets are officially backing a WNBA expansion bid that was submitted before the January 30 deadline. The team confirmed in an official statement that Hornets Sports & Entertainment is supporting a bid led by Erica Berman, senior vice president of CardWorks, a consumer finance service company founded by her father, Don Berman.
“Hornets Sports & Entertainment believes strongly in the future growth of women’s basketball and the WNBA. The Charlotte Sting have a storied history and a passionate fanbase within our community,” the organization revealed in a statement provided to CLTure. “We are proud to back the Berman family and be a part of this larger group that is bidding to bring the WNBA back to Charlotte.”
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While the cost of the potential franchise has not been confirmed, the Toronto Tempo and Portland (yet to be named), both set to begin play in the 2026 season, paid $115 million (Toronto) and $125 million (Portland). Earlier this month, the WNBA filed new trademark applications for the Charlotte Sting, Detroit Shock, Cleveland Rockers, Miami Sol, and Houston Comets. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has stated the league aims to have 16 teams by 2028. Interest in WNBA franchises is growing, with multiple cities submitting bids before the January 30 deadline. The Golden State Warriors will begin play as the Valkyries in May, while Toronto and Portland will debut in 2026.
The Charlotte Sting, one of the original WNBA franchises founded in 1997, made an immediate impact in the league. In their first two seasons, they posted winning records (15-13 in 1997 and 18-12 in 1998) led by Andrea Stinson, Vicky Bullett, and Rhonda Mapp. In 1999, they selected two-time Naismith College Player of the Year Dawn Staley in the WNBA Draft, following the closure of the American Basketball League (ABL).
In 2001, after losing 10 of their first 11 games, the Sting bounced back to finish with an 18-14 record. They upset the No. 1 seed Cleveland Rockers and the No. 2 seed New York Liberty on their way to the WNBA Finals, but were swept 2-0 by the Lisa Leslie-led Los Angeles Sparks in a three-game series.
The Sting made playoff appearances in both the 2002 and 2003 seasons but ultimately faced financial struggles due to low attendance. In early 2007, Bobcats Sports and Entertainment relinquished ownership of the team to the league, and the Sting folded.
Several cities, including Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Austin, and Houston, have submitted bids for WNBA franchises. The league will review all expansion bids, evaluating factors like financial backing, market potential, facility plans, and the readiness of the proposed cities and ownership groups. The WNBA’s Board of Governors, which includes current team owners, will review the bids and discuss potential expansion cities. The Board will then vote to select which bids to accept. Once approved, the WNBA is expected to announce the new expansion team sometime within the year, to begin play by 2028.
Charlotte has proven to be a deserving location for women’s basketball, with events like the Ally Tipoff drawing more than 15,000 fans in 2023 and 2024. The demand for a WNBA team has only increased with the rising popularity of players like Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, and Angel Reese, among others.
In January, Zawyer Sports & Entertainment, the ownership group behind the Charlotte Checkers, officially announced the establishment of UpShot, a professional women’s basketball league set to launch in May 2026 with teams in Charlotte and Greensboro.
As women’s basketball continues to grow, the Charlotte Sting’s return to the WNBA could happen sooner than expected.
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