Key takeaways
- Sponsorship and ticketing revenue grows from $22.5M to $36.3M over five years, in the model I built.
- Sponsors grow from 17 in year one to 40 in year five.
- A 30-page strategy paper and an executive presentation.
- Built on a 3 Cs analysis of the company, its customers, and its competitors.
The brief
Detroit is getting a WNBA expansion team in 2029. Pistons owner Tom Gores is backing it, and it will share Little Caesars Arena with the Pistons. The team will start with no sponsors and no season ticket holders, in a market where the Lions, Pistons, Tigers and Red Wings already compete for the same fans and sponsors.
Detroit has had a WNBA team before. The Detroit Shock won three championships, but lost $2 million in 2009 and moved to Tulsa. The team never built a stable season ticket base, and its sponsors likely leaned on the auto and financial industries, which the 2008 financial crisis hit hard.
The paper argues that within five seasons, a targeted ticketing and sponsorship strategy can turn Detroit's interest in women's basketball into a steady base of season ticket holders and sponsors whose values fit the team.
Ticketing
Ticket prices are set game by game before the season, instead of changing in real time. The first five years are about building attendance and trust, and 68% of US consumers see dynamic pricing as price gouging.
A membership for former Detroit Shock fans. Fans who can show past engagement, like an old season ticket account, official merchandise or an archived email list, get early seat selection, a loyalty discount or price lock, and recognition for supporting women's basketball in Detroit.
Founding season ticket holders get priority seating, prices locked for the first five years, founding merchandise and early playoff access. Group plans target youth basketball clubs, schools, businesses and nonprofits.
Four a season: family night, Detroit Shock legacy night, Pride night, and girls and women's basketball night, each aimed at a different group of fans.
Season ticket holders make up 40% of all tickets sold by year five. The Golden State Valkyries sold 10,000 season tickets in their first year, about 55% of capacity, so 40% is a conservative goal.
Sponsorship
Financial services and insurance, healthcare and wellness, education, family and women-focused consumer brands, and digital platforms. Spreading sponsors across industries keeps the team from depending on one, as the Shock did.
The team shares an owner and an arena with the Pistons, so Pistons sponsors are natural first targets, including Henry Ford Health, CURE Auto Insurance, GameAbove Sports, Kroger, MeetKai and Uptop. The Shock never took this approach.
Three tiers: pillar, supporting and community sponsors. Founding partners in year one get a branded content series with players, player appearances, premium hospitality and recognition at launch.
The goal is an 80% renewal rate, with a dedicated account team and three check-ins a season: before, during and after. Research shows partner satisfaction predicts renewal better than exposure alone.
Sponsorship revenue grows from $1.7M to $5.6M, from 17 deals averaging $100,000 in year one to 40 deals averaging $140,000 in year five. That is still below the league's 2024 average of $143,000 per deal.
The model
Year one assumes 13,000 fans a game at an average ticket price of $80, over 20 home games. After that, attendance grows 6% a year and prices 5% a year, well below the league's recent increases. Costs are set at 25% of ticket revenue and 20% of sponsorship revenue.
Revenue is ticketing and sponsorship combined, in millions of dollars. Delivered as a 30-page strategy paper and an executive presentation.