Professional women’s basketball is officially making its long-awaited return to Northeast Ohio. Cleveland’s new WNBA expansion franchise, the Cleveland Sirens, formally unveiled its identity, logo and color scheme on Aug. 4 ahead of their scheduled 2028 inaugural season.
Operating under Dan Gilbert’s Rock Entertainment Group — the umbrella sports entity housing the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, and G League’s Cleveland Charge — the Sirens will compete as the league’s 16th franchise. Home games will be held downtown at the 19,432-seat Rocket Arena, with training and player development anchored at Cleveland Clinic Courts in Independence.
“The Cleveland Sirens are sharp, unapologetic, fearless and relentless, representative of this region, our Great Lake and the future of our city and women’s basketball,” said Allison Howard, president of business operations for the Sirens.
The franchise name draws direct inspiration from Lake Erie and classical siren mythology, embodying an aquatic theme centered around the team’s official slogan, “Hear the Call.”
Visually, the Sirens’ branding marks a distinct departure from Cleveland’s previous WNBA chapter. The Sirens’ color palette features deep blue, white and vibrant cyan, styled into a sleek aquatic crest incorporating fluid water imagery and sharp nautical lettering.
By contrast, Cleveland’s original franchise, the Cleveland Rockers, used an orange, black and electric blue color scheme centered on a guitar pick and basketball motifs — a direct nod to the city’s identity as home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sirens’ leadership confirmed that the organization will operate as a standalone franchise rather than adopt the Rockers’ historical records. However, an official alum program will be established for former Rockers players.
The franchise was awarded as part of the WNBA’s rapid expansion initiative led by Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who evaluated candidate cities based on market viability, committed local ownership, arena readiness and regional fan momentum.
“The demand for women’s basketball has never been higher, and we are thrilled to welcome Cleveland to the WNBA family,” Engelbert said. “This historic expansion is a powerful reflection of our league’s extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game, and the surging demand for investment in women’s professional basketball.”
Engelbert specifically pointed to the ready-made infrastructure provided by Rock Entertainment Group, noting that Cleveland’s existing NBA setup, facility logistics, and strong sports demographics made the city a premier candidate for expansion.
“They’re a ready-made operation, arena, demographic, the psychographic, all the data, those numbers,” Engelbert added. “I’m a data geek.”
Rock Entertainment Group Chairman Dan Gilbert emphasized the civic impact of returning WNBA basketball to the region. “The WNBA’s return to Cleveland marks a pivotal moment for women’s sports,” Gilbert said. “Years from now, we will reflect on this day as a truly monumental point in Cleveland’s sporting history. The passion, support and continued commitment of our community for our professional sports teams played an integral role in making this possible.”
Nic Barlage, CEO of Rock Entertainment Group, noted that bringing the WNBA back to Ohio aligns with rapid regional growth in youth sports, where female participation in local Cavaliers youth academies has increased at a 30% year-over-year rate.
The arrival of the Sirens closes a quarter-century void created by the departure of the Cleveland Rockers, one of the WNBA’s original eight charter franchises when the league tipped off in 1997. Owned and operated by former Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund, the Rockers enjoyed a competitive seven-season run at then-Gund Arena, making four playoff appearances and capturing Eastern Conference regular-season titles in 1998 and 2001.
However, following the 2003 campaign, the Gund family announced it would cease operating the team due to financial losses and a lack of profitability in local operations. When no local buyer stepped forward to acquire the franchise, the Rockers officially folded in December 2003, leaving the city without a professional women’s team for more than two decades.
The Sirens join a rapidly expanding WNBA landscape that has grown from 12 teams to a planned 18-team league by 2030. Following the Golden State Valkyries’ debut in 2025 and incoming 2026 franchises in Toronto and Portland, Cleveland will enter the court in 2028, followed by newly awarded franchises in Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030.
The $250 million expansion fee paid by Gilbert’s ownership group reflects the soaring commercial interest in women’s professional sports nationwide, driven by record-breaking television ratings, sellout crowds, and unprecedented growth in corporate partnerships.
With over 7,000 season-ticket deposits already secured by local fans, the Sirens will begin assembling their basketball operations leadership in 2027, hiring a general manager and head coach ahead of the 2027 expansion draft and 2028 WNBA Draft.
Contact multimedia & senior sports reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846. Follow him on X @3Noral. For more, visit indianapolisrecorder.com.
Noral Parham is the multi-media reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.
