Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert plans to form a new WNBA team, his holding company Rock Entertainment Group said Wednesday, hoping to bring women’s basketball back to Cleveland more than 20 years after the demise of the previous city team.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has said she hopes to see the league expand to 16 teams by 2028 and recently announced that teams in Toronto and Portland would begin play in 2026.

Another expansion team, the Golden State Valkyries, will join next season.

Rock Entertainment Group said in a statement to Reuters that it was committed to “diversifying our platform to provide access to sports and equality on many levels.”

“It has long been part of our mission to use our platform to unite our community in ways that promote equal opportunity at all levels,” the statement said.

“To that end, we are actively seeking to bring a WNBA expansion team to Cleveland.”

The announcement came amid renewed interest in the WNBA, driven by a popular rookie class, including Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.

Clark skyrocketed television ratings during her senior year at Iowa, where she broke the all-time collegiate scoring record before earning Rookie of the Year honors during her first WNBA season.

Rock Entertainment Group highlighted a handful of recent sporting events in Cleveland to support its bid, including this year’s Women’s Final Four that broke television records.

Cleveland was home to one of the league’s original franchises, the Rockers, but the team folded in 2003, with the previous owner blaming lack of attendance. REUTERS