Here’s the UPSHOT: Charlotte’s pro women’s basketball team unveils name, logo
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Charlotte Crown unveils name, logo and purple colors; UPSHOT play begins 2026.
- Trisha Stafford-Odom named head coach; commits to up-tempo offense and defense.
- Season tickets start at $44; ownership secures financing and plans measured expansion.
The Charlotte Crown unveiled its team name, logo and purple primary colors Thursday morning at Bojangles Coliseum, marking the return of professional women’s basketball to the Queen City.
The UPSHOT League franchise, operated by Zawyer Sports & Entertainment, will begin play in May 2026 at the coliseum, the same arena where the city’s American Hockey League team, the Charlotte Checkers play. Zawyer Sports & Entertainment also owns a majority stake in the Checkers.
The Crown will be part of the new UPSHOT League, which opens its inaugural season with four teams: the Crown, the Jacksonville Waves, the Savannah Steel and a team in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Greensboro team name and logo will be revealed Friday.
Thursday’s announcement took place in the Boplex in Charlotte at 11 a.m., where purple and white balloons draped the space as officials revealed the Crown identity to fans and media.
Former WNBA player Trisha Stafford-Odom was introduced as the Crown’s head coach. Stafford-Odom, who previously coached at North Carolina Central University in Durham, will lead the franchise from its inception.
When describing the style of play fans can expect from the Crown, Stafford-Odom said she prefers an up-tempo attack that converts at a high percentage in transition. She described her defensive approach as “intelligently suffocating” before joking with the crowd that her players will need to be in much better shape than she is to handle the demanding pace.
Season ticket reservations opened Thursday at $44 per seat. Mayor Pro Tem Danté Anderson became the franchise’s first season ticket holder and represented the city alongside Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority CEO Steve Bagwell at the announcement.
Zawyer Sports & Entertainment CEO Andy Kaufmann confirmed the franchise has secured financing and outlined a measured expansion approach for the league.
“We obviously have the finance behind us to do that,” Kaufmann said. “We want to be intentional with the communities that we continue to grow in.”
UPSHOT League commissioner Donna Orender, a former WNBA president, projected the league could expand to 30 to 40 teams within a decade. The league plans to announce two additional expansion markets between February and the end of March that will begin play in 2027.
“We know that cities across America are hungry for it,” Orender said. “So we will strategically look at those markets finding us and us finding those markets so that we can do this in a financially responsible way.
”Zawyer Sports operates 14 sports and entertainment properties, including five in the region. In addition to the Checkers, the company owns the Jacksonville (Florida) Icemen, which leads the ECHL in attendance, and the Greensboro Gargoyles and Savannah Ghost Pirates, also of the ECHL.
No roster or schedule details were announced Thursday.
This story was originally published October 9, 2025 at 2:24 PM.