How a 16th WNBA team in Nashville could happen by 2028 (Candace Parker!)

A WNBA team in Nashville, Tennessee, could happen thanks to a pretty familiar name—Candace Parker.

Yep. That’s right, WNBA icon Candace Parker.

Parker, Peyton Manning, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and Bill Haslam are part of a star-studded ownership group that wants to bring a team to the city.

As if that weren’t enough, the group already has a name for a possible new franchise: the Tennessee Summitt.

Legendary Tennessee Volunteers basketball coach Pat Summitt inspired the name. The play on words and nod to Summitt’s legacy is fitting, and there’s seemingly even a pre-selected color scheme. (Look away, Chicago Sky fans.)

That’s pretty cool. Right? Then, there’s the big question:

How could a team in Nashville actually happen?

Well, technically, the city has been on the list of possible expansion sites for a while now, which means that this has been thought about, and the ownership group is well aware of what it would take to make a team work.

Per Paul Skrbina of the Nashville Tennessean, that includes the cost of a privately financed team (likely more than $100M in funds), a place to play (Bridgestone Arena is an option, along with games in Knoxville, Memphis and Clarksville, Tennessee) and a practice facility.

Of course, Haslam, who is leading the charge, mentioned that having more investors down the road to bring the team to fruition would also help. “This is not contingent upon the city doing anything for us,” he said.

When would a team realistically be ready to play basketball in Nashville? The target is 2028, following the debut of the Golden State Valkyries in 2025 and the Toronto Tempo and Portland expansion teams in 2026.