The Portland WNBA team is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team based in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. The team will compete in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference; it is scheduled to begin play in 2026. The team will play its home games at

Moda Center Moda Center, formerly known as the Rose Garden, is the primary indoor sports arena in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is used for basketball, rodeos, circuses, conventions, ice shows, concerts, and dramatic productions. The arena has a capa ...

. The franchise will be the second WNBA team in the city's history, following the

Portland Fire The Portland Fire were a professional basketball team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) based in Portland, Oregon that joined the league in 2000 as the counterpart to the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and played their games a ...

in the early 2000s.

History

The

were Portland's first venture with the WNBA. The team played from 2000 until 2002 when they folded. In February 2023, WNBA commissioner

Cathy Engelbert Catherine M. Engelbert (born November 14, 1964) is an American administrator, accountant, and businesswoman who has been the commissioner of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) since 2019. Before joining the WNBA, she had been with ...

visited Portland for an event at The Sports Bra co-hosted by US senator

Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden ( ; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996 United States Senate special el ...

, along with personnel from the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

Portland Thorns FC Portland Thorns FC is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL ...

, and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and Oregon State's women's basketball teams. In October 2023, the WNBA was set to award a team to Portland with tech billionaire

Kirk Brown Kirk Brown co-founded ZoomInfo (previously known as DiscoverOrg). Personal life Brown lives in Vancouver, Washington, as of 2022. See also * Portland WNBA team The Portland WNBA team is an American professional basketball team based in Po ...

as the planned owner of the team. Plans fell through days before a planned October 26 announcement when Brown pulled out which left the potential team without the required $50 million expansion fee. Brown and the league had a difference of opinion on the team's name branding, with Brown wanting the team to be called the Rose City Royalty, but Engelbert was "uncomfortable" with that idea. The league also found Brown's ownership stake in Shoot 360, a basketball training center with locations across the country, as a potential conflict of interest. The WNBA wanted him to give up his investment, but he refused and withdrew his bid with all of the conditions required. On September 18, 2024, Portland was officially awarded a franchise, which will be the WNBA's 15th team. The team will be owned by Lisa Bhathal Merage and her brother Alex Bhathal via RAJ Sports, who also own the Thorns. They paid the WNBA $125 million for the franchise. Lisa Bhathal Merage will serve as controlling owner and WNBA Governor; Alex Bhathal will serve as Alternate Governor. The team will begin play in 2026. The Bhathals began conversations with the WNBA in late 2023 after the previous attempt to bring a team to Portland fell apart. On the decision to award Portland a team, Engelbert said "I think Portland has proven they'll show up for women's sports and definitely for women's basketball, so we're excited to be coming back to the market". Alex added that he and his sister became convinced that Portland was a great market for women's sports during their process of purchasing the Thorns. Based on trademark applications filed on June 18, 2025, the WNBA is potentially looking to reprise the name "Portland Fire" for the new franchise.

References

External links

Official website
{{Portal bar, Basketball, Oregon 2024 establishments in Oregon 2026 in basketball Basketball teams established in 2024 WNBA Women's National Basketball Association teams Women's sports in Oregon