Why Houston Comets’ long-awaited return still doesn’t feel complete

The Houston Rockets organization made official on Thursday that its beloved Comets will return in 2027, after the conclusion of the 2026 WNBA season, as the Connecticut Sun franchise prepares to relocate to Houston. 

All the key figures were present as Mayor John Whitmire delivered a brief opening statement. This was followed by Houston Rockets leaders Patrick Fertitta and Gretchen Sheirr, who answered questions posed by Houston native, ESPN personality and two-time WNBA All-Star Chiney Ogwumike, along with the assembled local media. Former Comets players and Hall of Famers Tina Thompson and coach Van Chancellor were also in attendance.

The assemblage of people provided the authority to confirm the news, but looking around at the backdrop of the press conference, the glossy trailer showing a revamped practice facility and fan experience and other signage, it didn’t feel like the Comets were back quite yet. 

The 1990s-era design of the Comets’ branding, wordmark and logos was noticeably absent at the news conference—aside from one fan in attendance wearing a Sheryl Swoopes No. 22 Comets jersey. Instead, the generic word “Comets” set alongside the WNBA logo in its place.

The team’s identifiers are missing as the franchise has yet to actually secure the Comets’ trademark. 

“We feel very good that we’re the Houston Comets,” Sheirr said on Thursday. “I won’t get into much details, that process is run by the WNBA. We feel very confident.”

According to Chron’s Michael Shapiro, documents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office show that the Houston Comets trademark belongs to TSTM Holdings, LLC, a Delaware-based company. TSTM Holdings is represented by Kia Kamran, a Los Angeles-based attorney who frequently represents rapper Travis Scott and his company, LaFlame Enterprises, Inc. Chron has confirmed, per a source familiar with the current legal battle between TSTM and WNBA Enterprises (WNBAE), that Scott is affiliated with TSTM.

“TSTM has provided no information to support that it has a legitimate claim to the name of a beloved sports team and the goodwill that WNBAE built and has maintained for a period of nearly thirty years,” WNBAE wrote in a letter to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last month. “The fact that TSTM has chosen to pursue a mark identical to WNBAE’s Comets Word Mark for identical and overlapping goods and services, along with its refusal to identify any bona fide intentions, absence of any evidence of use in the marketplace or even of its plans to use the mark. … raise[s] a plausible inference that TSTM lacks bona fide intent.”

It is understood that once the Sun’s season ends, much of the club’s identity and image will be revealed ahead of the 2027 season. Whether or not WNBAE, Scott and TSTM work out an agreement over the branding remains unclear. 

Plans for the Comets are already underway, as new locker rooms and a training area will all be inside the franchise’s practice facility. Conversations regarding the Sun’s personnel relocating halfway across the country are in progress.

“We’re hopeful that all of the Connecticut [Sun] will have the opportunity to move here,” Sheirr said, mentioning that working with the Mohegan Tribe, the Comets’ previous ownership group, has been smooth thus far. “We were meeting with them on Monday, we’ll start meeting their staff, and we’ll start understanding who’s going to come here and roles they have.”

Fertitta and Sheirr both shared details of “Toyota Center Reimagined”, as the 23-year-old arena will be revamped with a new atrium, premium hospitality spaces, renovated suites and fan-first innovations to elevate their experience inside.

“As soon as everyone leaves here today, I’m not kidding, walls are coming down and construction will start,” Sheirr said. “We will renovate the existing basketball infrastructure that’s here.”

The franchise has been busy for their final season in Connecticut, as they’ve hired former longtime ESPN analyst Kevin Pelton to a top basketball operations role and signed Houston native and former Baylor star Brittney Griner as a free agent. The 2027 WNBA Draft looks promising as well, as stars like Juju Watkins, Madison Booker and Audi Crooks headline a star-filled class. 

“I want to find the Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper and the Tina Thompson of today,” Fertitta said of the team’s plans going forward. 

If the Comets can find a future Hall of Famer in the draft (or two or three), and get their branding back, maybe it’ll feel like the Comets truly never left.