Jared Goff and Sheila Ford Hamp are part of effort to bring WNBA back to Detroit

Pistons owner Tom Gores is pulling out the heavyweights in his effort to bring the WNBA back to Detroit.

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

On Friday, it was announced that Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores has submitted a bid to bring a WNBA team back to Detroit.

"This is an exciting opportunity to welcome the WNBA back to Detroit and bring additional investment and economic activity into the city,” Gores said, via a statement. “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.”

"Detroit is a sports town that loves its teams deeply and consistently shows up with unwavering passion. At a critical moment in the growth and development of the WNBA, it supported the hometown team more than any other franchise in the league. We’re here to rekindle that legacy.”

The Detroit Shock played in the WNBA from 1998 to 2009, winning three titles (2003, 2006 and 2008) with former Piston Bill Laimbeer as the head coach. The Shock ranked No. 1 in attendance for three straight seasons, and the franchise set a single-game attendance record of 22,076 fans during Game 3 of the 2003 WNBA Finals. The team moved to Tulsa, and is current known as the Dallas Wings.

The Goffs, Sheila Ford Hamp part of bid to bring WNBA back to Detroit

In the statement, Gores noted "the power of partnership" and being "joined by so many influential and important leaders offering their investment and expertise" in his ownership group.

Gores' investment group is comprised of "some of the most accomplished men and women in global sports, business, entertainment, media and finance", and broadly dubbed an "impressive array of additional sports, entertainment, media business and finance leaders."

Here are some of the notable names involved in bringing the WNBA back to the Motor City.

  • Former Pistons star Grant Hill, and wife Tamia Hill
  • Lions principal owner Sheila Ford Hamp, and husband Steve Hamp
  • Lions QB Jared Goff, and wife Christen Goff
  • General Motors Chair/CEO Mary Barra, and husband Tony Barra
  • Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem, and wife Nancy Tellem
  • Former University of Michigan star and Detroit native Chris Webber

As for the name of the prospective new WNBA franchise in Detroit, CNBC has reported the league has filed a trademark application for "Detroit Shock."

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