What Houston Comets does

The Houston Comets is a women's professional basketball franchise in the WNBA that is being re-established in Houston, Texas for the 2027 season. Operated under Fertitta Entertainment—a wholly owned subsidiary of Tilman J. Fertitta, who also owns the Houston Rockets—the franchise traces its lineage to one of the WNBA's original eight franchises (1997-2008) and won the league's first four championships (1997-2000), a dynasty built around Hall of Famers Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson, and Coach Van Chancellor. In March 2026, Fertitta Entertainment acquired the Connecticut Sun from the Mohegan Tribe for $300 million—the largest transaction in WNBA history—and received unanimous approval from the WNBA and NBA Board of Governors in May 2026 to relocate the franchise to Houston under the revived Comets name. The legal entity is Rocket Ball, Ltd., headquartered at 1510 Polk Street, Houston, with shared operational infrastructure under the Fertitta family ownership umbrella.

The franchise's core product offering centers on live WNBA basketball games at the Toyota Center, supported by season ticket memberships sold via a $99 per seat priority-access deposit program, individual game tickets distributed through an AXS-linked digital ticketing platform, and official merchandise (jerseys and fan gear) sold through a Fanatics-managed e-commerce storefront at rocketsshop.com/pages/comets. The team's product surface will benefit from Toyota Center Reimagined, a $180 million renovation (with $95M funded by the state of Texas and the remainder by the Fertitta family) that includes a 20,000 sq ft atrium, expanded and modernized practice and training facilities, elite medical/recovery/nutrition resources, new team stores, premium bars and lounges, and modernized locker rooms designed for the Comets players. The digital platform (houstoncomets.com) combines marketing content, ticketing, merchandise e-commerce, insider email capture, an embedded YouTube video player, and a third-party-powered chatbot for customer service.

Revenue mechanics for the franchise will derive from four primary streams: ticket sales (season memberships and single-game tickets), merchandise sales (via Fanatics), corporate sponsorships, and WNBA media rights revenue tied to league-level distribution. The franchise is currently in a pre-launch deposit-collection phase, actively building its season ticket holder base and insider email list ahead of the 2027 season. The primary customer segment is Houston-area sports fans interested in women's professional basketball and the return of a historic local franchise. Disclosed headcount on the Comets entity is 1-10 employees, reflecting shared operational infrastructure with the Houston Rockets under the broader Fertitta Entertainment organization.

Name

Houston Comets

Legal name

Rocket Ball, Ltd.

Website

https://houstoncomets.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2026

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Houston Comets is a WNBA women's basketball franchise returning to Houston for the 2027 season under Fertitta Entertainment, leveraging four historical championships and a renovated Toyota Center to serve fans via tickets, merchandise, and sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Season ticket memberships and individual game tickets for WNBA games at Toyota Center. Fans place $99 per seat deposits to secure priority access.
2. Merchandise Sales: Official Houston Comets merchandise sold through rocketsshop.com and team stores, including jerseys and fan gear.
3. Sponsorships and Media Rights: Corporate sponsorships and WNBA media rights revenue associated with operating a professional sports franchise in the NBA family.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Houston Comets operate a professional WNBA women's basketball franchise that will play home games at Toyota Center beginning in the 2027 season. Their primary commercial offerings consist of season ticket priority access (with $99 per seat deposits), official team merchandise sold through the Rockets Shop, and live game entertainment tied to the franchise's historic four-championship legacy.

Product overview

Houston Comets is a professional WNBA basketball franchise returning to Houston in 2027 as one of the league's original eight franchises. The team's product portfolio centers on live basketball game experiences (Comets Basketball Game Tickets), fan engagement programs (Insider Access/Season Memberships), and official merchandise (Official Houston Comets Merchandise via Rockets Shop). The franchise also offers access to modernized Toyota Center facilities as part of a $180 million venue renovation project. The Comets play home games at Toyota Center and are owned and operated by Fertitta Entertainment under the Fertitta family ownership alongside the Houston Rockets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Comets Basketball Game Tickets WNBA basketball game tickets for the Houston Comets franchise beginning in the 2027 season. Priority access and season ticket memberships are available through the team's official website for individual fans seeking live game attendance.
• Insider Access / Season Memberships Priority access program allowing fans to secure season ticket memberships and receive exclusive updates, news, and early access to events for the Houston Comets franchise ahead of the 2027 season.
• Official Houston Comets Merchandise Official team merchandise including jerseys, apparel, and gear available through the Rockets Shop online store, encompassing the first merchandise drop for the returning franchise.

Quantifiable outcome

• Largest WNBA franchise transaction in history at $300 million

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• WNBA and NBAflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 May 2026The WNBA and NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale and relocation of the Connecticut Sun to Houston for the 2027 season, officially marking the return of the Houston Comets as part of the league's expansion to 18 teams by 2030.
• Mohegan TribeminorOthers · 30 March 2026The Mohegan Tribe sold the Connecticut Sun franchise to Fertitta Entertainment for $300 million, ending Connecticut's 23-season tenure as home of the WNBA franchise.
• Fanatics Retail GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFanatics Retail Group North, LLC supplies and manages the online merchandise store for the Houston Comets, handling fulfillment and shipment of all merchandise ordered through rocketsshop.com.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Las Vegas Aces: The Las Vegas Aces are the reigning WNBA champion franchise and the most directly comparable peer, with shared league economics, a premium shared arena, and strong ownership. Their sponsorship, ticket, and merchandise benchmarks represent the upper bound of what the Houston Comets could achieve in their launch years.
• Indiana Fever: The Indiana Fever are a WNBA franchise that experienced a dramatic surge in fan interest, ticket demand, and valuations with the arrival of Caitlin Clark. They illustrate the upside potential for a WNBA franchise riding a player-driven or narrative-driven wave of momentum.
• Minnesota Lynx: The Minnesota Lynx are a multiple-championship WNBA franchise with a strong dynasty-era brand similar to the Comets' four-title legacy. They offer a benchmark for sustaining a championship brand through roster turnover and changing league economics.
• Chicago Sky: The Chicago Sky are a WNBA franchise operating in a major midwestern market, providing benchmarks for ticket pricing, sponsorship mix, and arena economics in an established-but-non-flagship market.
• New York Liberty: The New York Liberty operate as a major-market WNBA franchise with strong corporate backing and arena economics. They provide a benchmark for premium urban-market WNBA operations, sponsorship packaging, and merchandise performance at scale.
• Phoenix Mercury: The Phoenix Mercury are a historic WNBA franchise with multiple championships and a strong brand following. Comparable to the Comets given shared dynasty-level history and similarly large-market arena economics.
• Seattle Storm: The Seattle Storm are a multiple-time WNBA champion franchise with strong community backing and arena presence. They are a useful comparable for sustainable championship operations and depth of women's pro basketball fan engagement.
• Atlanta Dream: The Atlanta Dream are a WNBA franchise that recently transitioned to new ownership and repositioned the business. Relevant as a comparable for ownership-driven franchise relaunch, an analogous structural situation to what is happening with the Comets under Fertitta.

Others

• Houston Rockets: The Houston Rockets are the sister NBA franchise under shared Fertitta ownership, operating from the same Toyota Center venue. They are essential to understanding the shared operational infrastructure, marketing synergies, and venue economics that will underpin Houston Comets operations.
• Connecticut Sun: The Connecticut Sun is the WNBA franchise acquired by Fertitta Entertainment for $300M and relocated to Houston as the Comets. Although no longer a standalone operating franchise, its prior operating and financial data points are the most direct anchor for the new Houston franchise's pre-launch projections.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=tzgz9mj3jb0
• Xx.com/HoustonComets
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/houston-comets

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Houston Comets