WNBA in Detroit: Jared Goff, Chris Webber among team of investors trying to bring a team back

DETROIT (FOX 2) - DEEEE-TROIT BASKETTTTBALLLLLLL!!! Hope you're ready for even more hoops in the Motor City. Lions QB Jared Goff, former Michigan great Chris Webber, and more are part of a star-studded team of investors trying to bring the WNBA back to Detroit.

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores is lading a team of investors that have submitted a bid to add a WNBA expansion team to the Motor City. 

The team trying to bring the WNBA back to Detroit includes Goff and his wife, Christen, Webber, former Pistons great Grant Hill and his wife, Tamia, Lions principal owner Sheila Hamp and husband, Steve, General Motors CEO Mary Barra and her husband, Tony, and many others.

"This is an exciting opportunity to welcome the WNBA back to Detroit and bring additional investment and economic activity into the city," Gores said in a release from the team Friday. "For the WNBA this is home, and our bid represents an unprecedented opportunity for the league to come full circle and effect a long-hoped-for Detroit homecoming. No city is more prepared to embrace the team as a community asset that drives unity and common ground."

The plan would utilize a combination of new and existing facilities for the team, players, and community. It includes building a WNBA practice facility and team headquarters for training and amenities for players and coaches.

The organization would also develop an accessible sports center to support the formation and creation of a youth development academy. 

The WNBA team, if approved, would play games at Little Caesars Arena.

What they're saying:

The proposal to bring back the WNBA to Detroit is getting people throughout the city and state excited, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.

"Michiganders are fired up," Whitmer said. "Our passion for our teams and players is unmatched, our commitment to our communities remains unwavering, and our vision for women’s sports is crystal clear. My administration stands ready to support this franchise’s success."

"Having a WNBA franchise in Detroit not only would add to the growing list of professional sports teams playing in the city, it also would bring a state-of-the-art practice facility and support the creation of a youth sports academy for Detroit's young people and their families," Duggan said.

Dig deeper:

The list of backers is a who's who of Detroit business and sports:

• Tom and Holly Gores
• Grant and Tamia Hill
• Sheila Ford Hamp and Steve Hamp 
• Mary and Tony Barra 
• Arn and Nancy Tellem 
• Chris Webber 
• Jared and Christen Goff
• Roger and Carin Ehrenberg 
• Ethan and Gretchen Davidson 
• Denise Ilitch 
• KC and Ashley Crain
• Larry Brinker Jr
• Andra Rush 
• Sandy and Tom Pierce
• Steve Jbara
• Beth Chappell
• Mindi Fynke
• Suzanne Shank
• Matthew and Karen Cullen
• Sportsology Capital Partners, LP

The backstory:

The Detroit Shock were one of the first WNBA expansion teams and started playing in 1998. Over the course of 11 years, the Shock won three championships, including in 2003 when former Pistons Bad Boy Bill Laimbeer turned the team from worst in the league to a number seed. 

That season, they went up against the Los Angeles Sparks, who were seeking a three-peat, but the Shock won the series in three games.

The following two seasons weren't too kind but the Shock won again in 2006 and 2008. It was part of a four-year stretch of making the WNBA Finals – and winning two.

 But it started to trend downhill from there, especially as attendance waned.

Three games into the 2009 season, Laimbeer resigned and Rick Mahorn took over. The team made the Eastern Conference finals but lost in three games. 

On Oct. 19, 2009, the team relocated to Tulsa for five years before ultimately landing in Dallas in 2016.