The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced on Sept. 18, 2024, that a new team is coming to Portland, Oregon in 2026. This is the third expansion franchise announced after the Golden State Valkyries and a Toronto franchise.
Women’s basketball–and women’s sports in general–has seen a rise in popularity with record-breaking numbers reported in both viewership and in-person attendance. Through social media and overall athletic ability, college stars such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese contribute to this new wave of attention. Views have increased by 183% compared to the 2023 season, resulting in multiple franchise expansions for the league coming in 2025 and 2026. The expansions will add three new teams to the already established 12. As of this September, Portland was awarded the 15th franchise, which will be owned by RAJ Sports, a sports investment company.
“For decades, Portland has been the global epicenter of sports lifestyle and today, we are now the global epicenter of women’s sports,”one owner of RAJ Sports Lisa Bhathal Merage said.
RAJ Sports, which is also owned by Alex Bhathal, is an investment company with multiple years of experience in the sports industry. The Bhathal’s also own the Portland Thorns women’s soccer team and started looking into a WNBA Portland expansion in late 2023 after a separate bid failed to happen.
“This is huge for Portland,” Bhathal-Merage said. “We are so honored and humbled to be the vessel that delivers this WNBA franchise to Portland, and that’s really how we consider ourselves. Portland is this incredibly diverse, enthusiastic community. We saw the passion first-hand when we started looking into the Portland Thorns, and this is Basketball City so we’re very excited about the future.”
This expansion marks the first time in WNBA history that a team has returned back to a city. Oregon was previously home to the Portland Fire, which lasted only three seasons from 2000-2002. The Fire’s short seasons were not easy ones as the first two ended with a losing record. The Fire never made the playoffs even with a .500 mark in the final year, and the team was putting financial stress on owner Paul Allen. The Portland Fire was later sold after the 2002 season to the NBAs Trailblazers.
“As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward,” a commissioner of the WNBA Cathy Engelbert said.
Portland gladly embraces a love for women’s sports and is known for being an epicenter for women’s sports. Portland is also home to thousands of passionate Trailblazer basketball fans. The new expansion team is planning to share the Moda Center with the NBA team.
“We believe in the transformative power of women’s sports and are thrilled that the WNBA will call Portland home,” Bhathal-Merage said. “We know that Portland’s vibrant and diverse communities will highly support and rally around this team.”
