by Noa Dalzell | MSN
The WNBA is continuing to expand — and the latest franchise is coming to Portland, Oregon, the league announced Wednesday morning. With Toronto, San Francisco, and now Portland each getting their own WNBA teams, the league will have 16 teams by 2026.
It’s not the first time WNBA basketball will be played in Oregon. Portland previously had a WNBA team, the Portland Fire from 2000 to 2002, before that franchise was ultimately shut down. The league was close to bringing a team to Portland last fall, but those plans — with a different ownership group — fell through. Portland’s new WNBA team is set to begin play in 2026.
RAJ Sports will head the ownership group, led by owners Lisa Bhathal Merage and her brother, Alex Bhathal. They recently purchased Portland Thorns FC, a professional women’s soccer team. The Portland Thorns have the third-highest attendance in the NWSL, averaging more than 18,000 fans per game this season.
“As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a statement. “Portland has been an epicenter of the women’s sports movement and is home to a passionate community of basketball fans. Pairing this energy with the Bhathal family’s vision of leading top-flight professional sports teams will ensure that we deliver a premier WNBA team to the greater Portland area.”
The Portland WNBA team will play its home games at Moda Center in downtown Portland, where the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers play.
Two other WNBA expansion teams are already in the works: Golden State in 2025 and Toronto in 2026. Golden State’s name and branding have already been revealed — the team will be known as the Valkyries — while Toronto’s has yet to be announced.
The Valkyries are off to a record-breaking start, having already received 17,000 season ticket deposits for next season. Plans for their state-of-the-art facility have also been released.
With Portland’s team now official, the WNBA will include 15 teams by 2026. Previously, Commissioner Cathy Englebert announced that the league’s aims to reach 16 teams by 2028. Denver, Nashville, Philadelphia and Charlotte have all been rumored to be in the mix.