Should Charlotte Bring Back the Sting?

It's time for the WNBA to return to Charlotte.

Depending on your age or if you recently moved to the Charlotte area, you may not know that the WNBA once had a franchise here in the Queen City. The Charlotte Sting began play in 1997 and went 15-13 in their inaugural season under head coach Marynell Meadors.

Just a couple of years later, they drafted Dawn Staley 9th overall who is now widely recognized as one of the best college coaches in the country. She spent the first six years and some change with the organization, making three All-Star appearances before being traded to the Houston Comets in 2005.

The Sting made the playoff six times during their 10-year existence, making it to the Eastern Conference finals twice and the WNBA Finals (2001) once. The 2006 season would be their last as they were dealing with many of the same problems other WNBA franchises faced with low attendance and a major loss of revenue.

Interest in women's basketball is at an all-time high and the momentum doesn't appear to be coming to a screeching halt anytime soon. WNBA games are now producing packed arenas with several young stars taking over the game such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, A'ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Aliyah Boston, and several others.

The league is eager to expand and have already done so with Golden State beginning play in 2025 and Toronto in 2026. That will bring the league to 14 teams, but WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert is "pretty confident" the league will expand to 16 teams by 2028. A year ago, she mentioned Denver, Austin, Nashville, Charlotte, and Portland as potential expansion candidates.

Charlotte Hornets owner Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin have their hands full with renovating Spectrum Center while also working on finalizing plans for a new practice facility. So Charlotte may not be a serious candidate at the moment unless a separate ownership group steps in which is unlikely. That being said, I do believe there's a chance Schnall and Plotkin consider bringing a WNBA team back to Charlotte at some point, especially if the revenue continues to grow.

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