CLEVELAND (AP) 鈥� Cleveland’s WNBA expansion team had three priorities for the franchise’s name.
It had to have its own identity and not be related to the Cavaliers. It needed to tie into Lake Erie. And fans wanted something progressive.
The Cleveland Sirens think they accomplished all three Tuesday when they introduced the name and branding during an event at Rocket Arena on Tuesday.
The WNBA’s 16th team will begin play in 2028. Cleveland was home to one of the league’s original franchises when the WNBA started in 1997, but the Rockers folded in 2003 when owner Gordon Gund could not find a new buyer.
Dan Gilbert’s Rock Entertainment Group, which has owned the Cavaliers since 2005, paid a $250 million expansion fee for Cleveland’s return to the WNBA.
Janice Braxton, who played for the Rockers for three seasons (1997-99), narrated a video introducing the name and the theme of 鈥淗ear the Call.鈥�
Braxton, along with other former Rockers’ players, were also at Tuesday’s event.
鈥淲e were at dinner with them last night and we gave them a sneak peak of the video. And they were overwhelming in their support and clapped several different times,鈥� said Allison Howard, the Sirens president of business operations.
The logo features a Siren underneath the name. The 鈥淪鈥� in the wordmark also conceals 鈥淐LE鈥�. The two shades of blue take inspiration from Lake Erie and the Rockers logo.
鈥淲e really wanted something that people could rally behind a real character. And we鈥檙e really excited about that,鈥� said Grant Gilbert, Rock Entertainment Group’s VP of business and basketball operations. 鈥淚 think the other aspect of the siren name and brand that was really considered and that we get very excited about is how authentically it extends just beyond the name and branded logos itself. The potential of the name is endless.鈥�
Over the past year, Cleveland has had 9,000 deposits for season tickets. Howard expects that to increase now that the name has been announced.
鈥淭his team can exist very much on the independent side of the Cavaliers. And that鈥檚 also what we are seeing right now. The demographic is totally different,鈥� Howard said. 鈥淭hey eat different food, they drink different drinks, they get here earlier, they purchase merchandise differently, and they come from all over the state and even outside of the state.鈥�
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