Detroit Shock likely to move to Oklahoma
By Bill Shea
The Detroit Shock women’s basketball franchise is reportedly moving to Tulsa, Okla.
The Women’s National Basketball Association team has played at the Palace of Auburn Hills since joining the league as an expansion franchise in 1998. The team, coached by former Detroit Pistons star Rick Mahorn, won WNBA championships in 2008, 2006 and 2003.
A message was left for Tom Wilson, president of Palace Sports and Entertainment, which manages the Shock and Pistons for owner Karen Davidson. She inherited the teams and the Palace of Auburn Hills when husband William Davidson died earlier this year.
A message was also left at the league’s New York City headquarters.
No details about the move have been made public.
It’s believed, based on multiple media reports, that a consortium of investors led by William Cameron, chairman and CEO of Oklahoma City-based American Fidelity Assurance Company, has acquired the Shock. He’s also a minority owner of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder.
Also part of the investment group is David Box, owner of Greens Country Club in Oklahoma City.
The team is expected to play at the $196 million BOK Center that opened last year in downtown Tulsa.
Nolan Richardson, former men’s college basketball coach at the University of Tulsa and University of Arkansas, has reportedly been named head coach.
The Shock this season averaged 8,004 fans during 17 games at the Palace of Auburn Hills, down from 9,569 last year. The venue, which is also owned by Davidson, seats 22,076 for basketball.
The team finished 18-16 this season and went on to sweep the Atlanta Dream in the Eastern Conference semifinals before losing in three games to the Indiana Fever in the conference finals.
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