Courtesy of Right Down Euclid
Cleveland has long been a lively (and underrated) sports city.
The home of the Guardians, Browns, Cavaliers, Charge, and Monsters will soon welcome a soccer team, and the sports city could expand even further than that.
In 2022, it was announced that Cleveland would be getting an MLS Next Pro team. Cleveland Pro Soccer will begin its inaugural season in 2025, and join Connecticut United FC and Jacksonville Armada FC as independent teams in the third tier of the United States soccer league system.
The Cleveland Metroparks granted space to the Cleveland Soccer Group to be used to build Cleveland’s new soccer stadium, with hopes of bringing in a National Women’s Soccer League team. The soccer stadium will be across the street from Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Guardians, and just down the street from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, home of the Cavs and Monsters. There are also proposed plans for a new RTA rapid stop to be added to make the space accessible for public transit.
The co-founders of Cleveland Pro Soccer want to grow soccer in Cleveland further, and have Cleveland be a part of the growth in women’s sports. They have put in a bid for a National Women’s Soccer League team, if the bid is successful (fingers crossed!) Cleveland's NWSL team would be the first women’s professional soccer team in the state of Ohio.
The NWSL, currently made up of 14 teams, is adding a team in Boston in 2026. For that season, the league is also looking to add a 16th team. The NWSL is expected to make an announcement on the city chosen for the next expansion team by the end of this year.
Photo from Alyssa Klauminzer
The desire for women’s sports in Cleveland doesn’t end at soccer either. This year, Cleveland was the host of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Final Four, the most viewed Women’s Final Four in history. The energy was high, the city was packed, and the event proved that Cleveland is a place where fans will show up for women’s basketball.
Cleveland was once home to one of the original eight WNBA teams, the Cleveland Rockers, and with the growth of the WNBA’s viewership and popularity, many fans want Cleveland to get its WNBA team back. And they’re not alone in the campaign.
Courtesy of the Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs)
Cleveland Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell wants The Land to have a WNBA team. He said to the press after a practice on October 4, “Cleveland is a perfect sports city for it. The WNBA is at an all-time high and I love the competition. Been this way for a while and I think people are now starting to finally pay attention.”
“I would love to be part of that [franchise in Cleveland] for sure if that ever happens,” Mitchell said. “It’s been great basketball. It’s become more national. I feel like us as players, we’ve been there from the jump. I think it’s great that the world is finally starting to see what we all see.”
With support from an important face in the city, like Mitchell, and renovations taking place in Cleveland, the possibility of regaining a WNBA team could be closer to a reality.
Even if a potential WNBA team in Cleveland couldn’t have a season that aligns with the Cavs and Monsters to use Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, there is still a place for them in the city. The Cleveland Charge, the Cavs’ NBA G League affiliate, is moving this season from Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center to the Cleveland Public Auditorium. This means that, with renovations being finished in the coming weeks, the auditorium will be a space that is set up for and suitable for basketball.
While Cleveland has not been considered as a location for a future WNBA team, hopefully having a voice like Mitchell lifting up Cleveland can help place it on the map.
The WNBA’s goal is to have 16 teams by 2028, and Cleveland would be the perfect spot for one.
Cleveland rocks and its fans are incredibly passionate. The city is more than deserving of getting NWSL and WNBA teams, and I can guarantee fans will show up and show out for them!
Edited by Giana Robertaccio
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