Bring back the Sting: Charlotte needs the WNBA to come back. And it just might happen
You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, as the song says. And so it is with the Charlotte Sting, one of the eight original WNBA franchises in 1997.
Ah, if only Charlotte had held onto the Sting. Then the city would be riding high on the women’s basketball wave. It might already employ Caitlin Clark or Angel Reese or A’ja Wilson.
Instead, the original Sting lasted 10 seasons, from 1997-2006. But the team was eventually victimized by declining ticket sales and the fact that nobody wanted to buy it once then-owner Bob Johnson got tired of losing money on the team and decided he wanted to sell. The Sting folded in early 2007.
But that was then and this is now, when women’s basketball has never been hotter. There’s a serious movement in Charlotte to bring back the Sting, one that I fully support. And this is not just petitions or politicians or people pining for the Sting on social media: There’s real money and a major bid for what would become the WNBA’s 16th franchise behind the effort.
If Charlotte got a WNBA team back — and I’ll warn you, the competition is multi-layered and fierce — it would play in the Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets. It would still be called the Charlotte Sting but would officially be an expansion franchise. It would begin WNBA play, most likely, in 2028.
The money behind the group? You likely have never heard of the Berman family, which is understandable because none of them live in Charlotte (although one son went to Davidson, and the family has also been big boosters of that college). The Bermans have made a mint, though, through their New York-based financial services company called CardWorks, which was founded in 1987 by family patriarch Don Berman. His daughter Erica Berman, a high-ranking executive in the company who lives in Florida, is the point person for this bid and would be the team’s governor.
The Bermans have actually been trying to resurrect the Sting in Charlotte — very quietly — for more than two years.
“We’ve been at this expansion process since the fall of 2022,” said Nadia Eke, who lives in Charlotte, helped construct the Berman bid and is a spokesperson for the family’s effort to bring back the Sting. “We submitted originally for the 15th franchise spot, which ended up getting awarded to Portland. ... Now we’ve put in our best offer possible, trying for the 16th spot.”
The cities competing with Charlotte
Charlotte’s bid had to be submitted before a Jan. 30 deadline. Eke said in our interview that it was. Charlotte will be in competition with “more than 10 potential ownership groups,” according to a report in The Athletic. Those include some bids from major cities, some of whom also have major celebrities behind them. In that report, a list of cities vying for the 16th WNBA franchise included:
▪ Austin, in a bid whose investors include NBA star Kevin Durant.
▪ Cleveland, where Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is trying to bring back a WNBA team to the city. Like Charlotte, Cleveland had an original WNBA team called the Cleveland Rockers, but it folded.
▪ Denver, where an ownership group wants to build an arena just for the WNBA team.
▪ Detroit, in a bid that is backed by Grant Hill, Chris Webber and Jared Goff.
▪ Houston, where the Rockets’ owner is attempting to also get a WNBA team. The Houston Comets once won four WNBA titles, but later disbanded.
▪ Kansas City, in a bid backed by NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his family.
▪ Nashville, where the team would be called the Tennessee Summitt in honor of legendary Tennessee basketball coach Pat Summit. Peyton Manning and Candace Parker would be part of the ownership group.
▪ Philadelphia, where the 76ers ownership group wants to bring a franchise to the city.
Support from Dawn Staley
Given the many other cities who have backing from their local NBA team, support from the Hornets’ current ownership group was essential. As recently as August, Hornets officials were saying they had no intention of getting involved in a bid to return the WNBA to Charlotte. But things changed in the ensuing months, and the Hornets have now publicly declared they are in support of the Berman bid. Current Hornets co-owners Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall are also minority investors in the bid, Eke said.
“I think the most important thing was really the arena situation and ensuring that’s all squared away,” Eke said. “And so now we’re backed by the Hornets and we would play in Spectrum Center.”
It’s also nice that the biggest women’s basketball name in our general area supports the Berman bid. Former Charlotte Sting all-star Dawn Staley, who has won three national titles as head coach at South Carolina, reiterated Wednesday to reporters in Columbia that she believes the WNBA in Charlotte would work. (She also laughingly said she wouldn’t be coaching the Sting, should it come back).
One note about the previous Sting teams that Staley starred on, by the way: In 10 seasons, they made the playoffs six times. They also made the WNBA Finals once, and lost. The Charlotte Hornets, on the other hand, have never made the NBA Finals — or the Eastern Conference Finals, for that matter — and have been in existence since 1988.
What’s the WNBA price tag?
How much would all this cost? It’s unclear.
Unlike some leagues, the WNBA hasn’t publicized an exact expansion fee. Instead, it’s almost as if the WNBA is selling a house on a prime piece of beachfront property and taking bids.
The higher your bid is, the more likely the property becomes yours. And the market for a WNBA team is soaring. The past three successful bidders paid $50 million (Golden State), $115 million (Toronto) and $125 million (Portland), according to reports. There is speculation that a successful bid for the 16th franchise might require a bid in the $200-million range — along with all the other accessories that are needed (a practice facility, committed ownership, other successful sports franchises to offer “proof of concept” in the market and so on).
When will the 16th franchise be awarded?
No one is quite sure, although it might be as soon as this summer. And if Charlotte doesn’t get this one?
Well, there’s speculation that if the WNBA continues to thrive, it may expand from 16 teams to 20, or even more, down the road. It sounds like the Bermans are in for the long haul, even if this process takes years.
And let’s hope so, because Charlotte needs the Sting to return, both to enliven the city and to seed it with some different types of pro sports role models. I’d like to take my daughter to a game and show her what women’s basketball at the highest level looks like. She was just about to be born when they left the first time; now she’s a high school senior. And I bet you can think of a young girl you’d like to take to a game, too. Bring back the Sting. It’s time.
This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 12:00 PM.
