Hockeytown is getting a new team.  Officials from Ilitch Sports and Entertainment announced today that Detroit is getting a Professional Women’s Hockey League expansion team.  

Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield and others attended a news conference Wednesday just outside of Little Caesars Arena.  Sheffield says the new team means something special to her as Detroit’s first woman mayor.  “This moment is especially meaningful to me.  It represents the progress we are making as a city to ensure that women and girls are seen, supported, and given the opportunity to shine at the highest level.”   

Detroit’s new team, which doesn’t have a name yet, will start play in the fall.  The league will hold its national draft in Detroit in mid-June. 

Additional headlines from Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Dearborn chooses superintendent 

Dearborn has selected a new school superintendent.  The district has offered the top job to Mike Esseily.  He currently serves as the district’s Director of Special Populations.  That means he oversees special education, English language learner programs and mental health initiatives.  He’s worked in different positions in the Dearborn school system since 2007. 

The school board and Esseily are in the midst of contract negotiations.  The district says he’s expected to start in July. 

WXYZ TV-7 returns to Xfinity 

Metro Detroiters who have Xfinity for their cable service will be able to watch a local television channel once again.  A contract dispute between the cable provider and E.W. Scripps kept subscribers from watching WXYZ-TV 7 for several weeks.  That meant no access to the Southfield station’s national or local news or entertainment programming, including one of the Pistons’ nationally-televised playoff games.  

Customers were told at the beginning of the contract dispute that they could get an over-the-air TV antenna to watch Channel 7 at an additional cost, or watch on certain streaming services. 

Gas prices update 

Metro Detroit gas prices average $4.80 per gallon today.  That’s up 55 cents from just a week ago.  Crude oil prices remain at more than $100 per barrel, keeping fuel costs high.  

Negotiations reportedly are underway to end hostilities with Iran, but the Strait of Hormuz remains closed at this point, meaning oil tankers are not traveling the waterway as normal yet. 

Pistons win opening game of round two 

Pistons fans in Detroit are celebrating today.  The team won its first game in the second round of the NBA playoffs Tuesday night, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 111 – 101 at Little Caesars Arena.  

Cade Cunningham scored 23 points in the victory.  The Pistons built up a double-digit lead early, but let it slip away during the course of the game. 

The score at one point in the fourth quarter was tied at 93, but Detroit pulled away to secure the victory.  Game two in the best-of-seven series takes place Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena. 

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Halfway through the 2025-2026 NBA season, the Pistons look like a strong contender in the Eastern Conference. The team has only 10 losses through 42 games, which is the second best record in the league.

This sort of performance rivals the championship days of the early 2000s.

Omari Sankofa II, the Pistons beat writer for the Detroit Free Press and co-host of the Pistons Pulse podcast, joined the show to explain what’s fueling the team’s success and outline the keys to sustaining it through the rest of the season. 

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More stories from The Metro

The Great Lakes Water Authority says a new tunnel will divert excess stormwater from a sewer line along the Rouge River to an under-used wastewater treatment plant in southwest Detroit. The $87 million project is expected to take at least two years to complete. 

The agency expects the new tunnel will reduce the risk of flooding and sewage backups during heavy rains. State and federal grants are paying for the project, along with sewer rate revenue. 

Additional headlines for Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025

Blight removal update

A voter-approved initiative that helped fund an expedited blight removal program in 2020 will end next year. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan gave his final update on the program Monday. 

Duggan announced there are fewer than 1,000 abandoned homes left. That’s down from 47,000 in 2014. Of those remaining, 240 are scheduled to be demolished with the other 702 in the pipeline to be sold. 

Duggan says the final steps will focus on addressing contaminated soil from sites where contractors used polluted backfill. He says there is still a $15 million reserve to address backfill contaminated sites. 

Demolition begins for new DCFC field

Demolition work has begun on the old Southwest Detroit Hospital which has been abandoned since the early 90s. The site along Michigan Avenue is being cleared to make way for a new 15,000 seat soccer stadium where Detroit City Football Club will play its home games. 

AlumniFi Field, as the stadium will be known, is expected to host its first match in 2027. 

Renovations to prepare Little Caesars for WNBA

Detroit Downtown Development Authority has approved up to $5 million in cash toward the cost of renovations at the Little Caesars Arena for Detroit’s incoming WNBA team. 

Renovations include a new locker room, modifications of game officials’ locker rooms and visitor space. Work is expected to start in 2028. 

Detroit’s WNBA franchise will be the fifth professional team to play downtown – joining the city’s NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB teams. 

Sheffield names David Bowser as chief of staff

Detroit Mayor-Elect Mary Sheffield has named David Bowser as her Chief of Staff.

Bowser was her senior policy advisor during her campaign and is the director of her transition team. 

Bowser served as deputy director of the Housing and Revitalization Department, deputy director of the Community Health Corps and director of Human Services in the for Mayor Mike Duggan. 

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.