At the unveiling of the new Rockets practice facility on Tuesday, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta reiterated his interest in both the NHL and WNBA, but with caveats.
On the NHL, Houston has long sought a pro franchise. The Aeros were successful for a minor league team with an exceedingly loyal fanbase, but when former Rockets owner Leslie Alexander won a referendum to build the Toyota Center in 2000, the Aeros lost their leverage as controllers of the Compaq Center and before long, they were gone. And there is no question hockey can succeed in Texas considering the popularity of the Dallas Stars.
Alexander pursued the NHL at different times during his ownership tenure both by inquiring about expansion and through attempts to purchase teams and move them to Houston. None were terribly successful and his approach soured relations between the team and the NHL, particularly Commissioner Gary Bettman.
Whether Fertitta can bridge that gap may come down to money. A report last week said that the NHL was considering Houston and Atlanta for expansion, but the Rockets owner was clear on Tuesday that he believed the expansion fees for a new NHL franchise were high. “We’re hoping that no team right now meets the price that they want for an expansion team,” Fertitta said. “We’re hoping that we somehow can get the team by being one of the best cities in America and also paying the right price for an NHL team.”
As for the WNBA, the difficulty in securing a team might be more about competition than money. The league is experiencing a surge in popularity thanks in large part to rookie Caitlin Clark and the Summer Olympic games. It is a long way from when the Comets, under extreme financial pressures during the recession of 2008, folded.
But, the Comets were the WNBA’s first dynasty and routinely drew more than 10,000 fans to Toyota Center during their run to four championships. Former coach Van Chancellor will be inducted into the Houston Sports Hall of Fame in 2025.
Still, with the league’s newfound success, cities have lined up to snag a new franchise. Portland was already named the league’s fifteenth team and they expect to add a sixteenth in the next few years. Houston will certainly be an attractive option considering the facilities and ownership group, but Denver, South Florida and even Austin have been working on the process for longer than the Rockets, who are now fully engaged in the process. That could come back to haunt them.
The financials are also a question given profit margins remain pretty thin for the WNBA even with new viewership. Unlike the NBA, there are no massive TV deals and attendance is low by comparison. But, Fertitta said he was not worried about the money and instead wants to bring a team back to Houston because it was the right thing to do as a Houstonian.
“I felt like it’s time to step up, and the city of Houston deserves a WNBA team for all the young female athletes that live in the city,” he explained. Unfortunately, his bid likely remains a long shot.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
