Nashville bids for WNBA team, would honor Pat Summitt with name - ESPN

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The chairman of the NHL's Nashville Predators and his wife want to bring the WNBA to Music City and have teamed up with a star-filled investor group that includes Candace Parker, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and entertainers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

The group led by Bill Haslam, a former Tennessee governor, submitted its bid to the WNBA on Thursday for a franchise that would start playing in 2028. The team would be named the Tennessee Summitt in honor of the late Pat Summitt.

Haslam said they see how women's professional sports is emerging worldwide.

«We believe a WNBA team, based in Nashville, could serve as a beacon for girls and women, young and old, across Tennessee, while also creating more opportunities for sports fans as our community continues to grow,» Haslam said.

The Nashville bid features a plan to build a practice facility for the WNBA team that also would be used for youth basketball.

«Tennessee is the DNA of everything women's basketball stands for,» Parker said in a statement. «I'm excited to be a part of the group working to bring a WNBA team to the state and honor Coach Summitt's legacy.»

Parker is a three-time WNBA champion and helped Summitt win two of her eight national championships at the University of Tennessee. Summitt died in 2016 as the winningest Division I coach four years after retiring following her diagnosis of early-onset dementia, Alzheimer's type.

A Tennessee native, Summitt coached the Lady Vols for 38 years and had a career record of 1,098-208 in 38 seasons with 18 NCAA Final Four appearances. Her son, Tyler, noted his mother was a huge advocate for women's sports and women in leadership.

«I know she would be proud and honored to be