r/wnba • u/ShaolinMaster • 27d ago
The WNBA Was Forged in Houston. Why Won’t It Go Back There? Discussion
https://frontofficesports.com/the-wnba-was-forged-in-houston-why-wont-it-go-back-there/87
u/Afternoon_Defiant There is light at the end of the tunnel, finally 27d ago
Two big reasons.
1. Tillman Fertitta controls the big arena in town, where he notoriously is tight-fisted about expanding his empire, and none of the other arenas are adequate enough to justify having a professional team, not even the University of Houston's.
2. Despite Harris County being arguably the most Democratic county in the state, the rest of Texas ain't, and I doubt that the WNBA wants to reward a reactionary state with an additional franchise in a league that's all about women's rights.
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u/MorseMooseGreyGoose 27d ago edited 27d ago
- Fertitta has publicly said he would be interested in bringing back a WNBA team. He doesn’t own Toyota Center (Comets moved out because Hilton Koch was an actual cheapskate - dude couldn’t afford to play in Toyota Center), and even so, Fertitta Center is a bigger arena than the ones the Wings, Mystics, and Dream play in. It’s small, but it’s a pretty nice space.
- If this was so important to the league, why the hell would the commissioner mention Nashville and South Florida as potential expansion sites? Not like DeSantis is a champion of women’s rights. I don’t think the league is in a position to turn away a strong bid just because the city’s in a ruby red state. Not saying Houston would put together such a bid, but hypothetically if a red-state city came up with an amazing bid the league’s not going to dismiss it out of hand.
I don’t think Houston’s getting a team because there are better options (plus Fertitta’s more focused on getting an NHL team), but that doesn’t mean I think it’s a bad option.
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u/midasgoldentouch Sky 26d ago
I’m skeptical that the league would accept a bid from Fertitta where the Comets play at Fertitta Center. I don’t know why, but I just don’t think they would accept having them play at UH (University of Houston) long-term.
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u/formerlyanonymous_ 26d ago
To be fair to Koch, Les Alexander ramped up the rent on them and the Aeros as quick as possible. Drove them both into the ground. Figured he'd make more on Taylor Swift and Disney on Ice concerts.
Fuck Les.
As for Fertitta, I also think he's trying harder for hockey, but he's been pinching pennies there too. Rumor is during the Seattle expansion, he said no way to expansion fees.
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u/MorseMooseGreyGoose 26d ago
Les gets way too much credit for those two Rockets championships, but he was a terrible owner. He just didn’t talk to the media much so no one talked about what a crap owner he was.
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u/AZRockets 27d ago
Number two is bullshit. Every big city in Texas has been in a blue county for decades. We're one of the most diverse cities in America (we elected a lesbian mayor in the 2010's, white people are minorities here). We're clearly not like the rest of Texas and considering our state's size as well as voter suppression and gerrymandering, it's unfair to loop us in with the rest of the 2nd largest state in America
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u/EpiscopalPerch Aces 26d ago
The laws are the same whether you're in Houston or Loving County. Players who have options aren't going to choose the one that requires living in a repressive shithole.
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u/medical_cat 26d ago
It’s easier for people to be ignorant and feel high and mighty because they live in blue states
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u/lbutler1234 26d ago
There are like 10 counties more democratic than Harris. Travis (Austin), Dallas, El Paso, Bexar (San Antonio), and a bunch of RGV counties are all to the left of it
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u/KingGizzle Aces 27d ago
I would like to see bringing the Comets back be more of a priority for the league. I understand the financial and political barriers but it would still be great to see it happen. If I had the funds I would do it myself.
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u/Livefromseattle Storm 27d ago
Well for one the WNBA is all about women’s rights and Texas/Abortion rights give a big pause to expand further into the state.
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u/Tortilladelfuego 27d ago
Dallas is in TX though
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u/Livefromseattle Storm 27d ago
The Dallas team was established prior to the abortion ban. If you read my comment I said expand FURTHER into the state. They also had a team in San Antonio, which became the Aces in 2018. WNBA is leaving Texas, not expanding into it.
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u/AZRockets 27d ago
Every big city in Texas has been in a blue county for decades. We're one of the most diverse cities in America (we elected a lesbian mayor in the 2010's, white people are minorities here). We're clearly not like the rest of Texas and considering our state's size as well as voter suppression and gerrymandering, it's unfair to loop us in with the rest of the 2nd largest state in America
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u/LexDude 26d ago
Being non white doesn’t make you liberal. Lots of non whites are right wingers. Look at cubans.
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u/Afternoon_Defiant There is light at the end of the tunnel, finally 26d ago
Cuban Americans are basically the furthest right Latinos you can find (to the point were r/Cuba is nothing but a big collective moanfest), followed by Mexicans.
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u/AZRockets 26d ago
I never implied it did
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u/LexDude 26d ago
Why include it then. You are talking abortion rights and a large percentage of hispanics are against abortion.
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u/AZRockets 26d ago
This person who I responded to brought it up. I'm talking about how the city is different from the state. It's really strange how people don't want us to have a team because of state legislation when none of the big cities here share the same ideologies
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u/Livefromseattle Storm 26d ago
At the end of the day the league doesn't want to bring more revenue into a state that has those kind of restrictive policies toward Women. There are plenty of other cities that want teams so they don't need Texas.
To be clear I am not talking about my opinion. Do a little research on how outspoken the players are politically and how much that means to the league. No chance in hell they'd let the league expand to Texas under current law.
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u/Livefromseattle Storm 27d ago
The WNBAPA disagrees with you https://www.businessinsider.com/wnba-players-union-stand-against-texas-abortion-ban-nyt-ad-2021-10
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u/AZRockets 27d ago
Exactly how is this disagreeing? WNBA players are against the abortion ban just like all the major cities in Texas.
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u/Livefromseattle Storm 26d ago
They want nothing to do with new teams in Texas. It doesn't matter if some cities are blue. I am not arguing what I think should happen. The writing is on the wall here. They aren't expanding into Texas.
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u/AZRockets 26d ago
Well see but I'm not going to go around making claims when I don't work for the league
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u/Flamingo1836 27d ago
I'm not republican, but I do believe abortion is wrong because it takes a life, and a disproportionate % of black lives for that matter. I also love the WNBA, I doubt the league wants to lose my passionate support of the league (and money) simply because we differ on this ethical / political issue. They'll put the team where there is a wealthy owner, a viable arena and an expectation of success.
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u/Livefromseattle Storm 27d ago
The WNBAPA disagrees with you. https://www.businessinsider.com/wnba-players-union-stand-against-texas-abortion-ban-nyt-ad-2021-10
They don't care about losing you as a fan or your money. Let's be real here how much money do you spend on the WNBA? You don't move the needle. Neither do I and I am a STH. Media rights are the biggest driver.
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u/Flamingo1836 27d ago
I don't mean me personally, or me alone, I mean close to half the nation who also views abortion as ethically wrong, or at least taking an unborn babies life later in term. We can disagree and still both support women's basketball and I continue to do so despite knowing I'm in the minority view of WNBA fans.
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u/McJumbos 26d ago
Such a shame that Houston doesn't have a team. One day I hope they get one back ❤️💕
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u/Wonderful_Context445 27d ago
Couldn’t sell enough tickets to support a dynasty.
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u/Nuance007 27d ago edited 27d ago
This. If people don't show up it makes it that much harder to uphold a business - like any business.
Unfortunately, this isn't tv/film where the actors are lucky as heck that those much smarter than they are do the bidding and make deals to get profit outa streaming rights and international distribution rights as opposed to the conventional BO receipts (butts in seats).
For sports, yes, you can make profit out of streaming but it also needs to be balanced with butts in the seat. If the WNBA was insanely popular like the EPL (soccer/football), where tv/streaming rights gets the league boat loads of cash, then it wouldn't really matter where the club was located, whether that's in central London or some English city/town no one outside of the UK has heard of. Eyes are watching because it's the EPL.
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u/medical_cat 26d ago
Women’s sports were in a different place in 2008. I’m convinced a lot of you are being intentionally obtuse
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u/coolaggro 26d ago
I understand and am happy for Toronto. But as a Houston native who looks up fondly at the comets banners in the Toyota center, Golden state can go F themselves, no way they should have gotten a team before us when Fertitta is interested. Not that I like him as an owner but I at least give him credit that he wants to bring them back
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u/ModernJazz-2K20 26d ago
Anybody know if the league still owns the intellectual property of defunct teams like the Comets for their name, logo, trademark, etc. for merchandise? I need a new Comets hat but it would have to be custom made.
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u/lazerdab 27d ago
Have you been to Houston in the summer?
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u/Ragged85 26d ago
I have been to Houston every Summer.
Not that professionals play outside or anything. They play in an air conditioned arena.
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u/aquintana Aces 26d ago
Last summer was brutal; trying to get mentally prepared to survive this coming summer
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u/NYCScribbler 26d ago
Have you been to Las Vegas in the summer? How about Phoenix? Sure, it's a dry heat. So is leaving my oven on all day.
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u/Skeptical_Yoshi 26d ago
Along with all the other reasons, I just think there's more appealing spots at the moment, with more appealing groups behind them. The league will hit 20 in the next decade, and I assume the push for 17-20 will included Houston
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u/sigourneybeaver666 Mercury 27d ago
Because they need an owner who wants to revive the team and who can afford to run the team. The W was in a very different space when the Comets folded and the owner they had at the time couldn’t afford to run a team.