WNBA Officially Announces New Expansion Team Joining League

The WNBA has announced the addition of a new expansion team. The league is returning to Portland, making the move official on Wednesday.

A Wilson Evo NXT official WNBA basketball / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The WNBA is officially heading to Portland. On Wednesday afternoon, the league sent out a social media post to announce the addition of a new expansion franchise, giving the WNBA 15 teams in the next two years.

Portland's expansion franchise will officially join the league for the 2026. The team will be owned by Raj Sports, which paid $125 million for the franchise. The ownership group is led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal.

“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. “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.”

Currently, the WNBA consists of 12 teams. The Golden State Valkyeries will join the league in 2025, bringing the total to 13. Then, Toronto and Portland will begin play in 2026, which bumps the league up to 15 franchises.

“This is huge for Portland. We are so honored and humbled to be the vessel that delivers this WNBA franchise to Portland,” Lisa Bhathal said, per the Associated Press. “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.”

Portland will play its home games at the Moda Center, located downtown.

It had been reported in late August that Portland was "closing in" on a bringing a WNBA franchise back to the city. It was previously home to the Portland Fire, which only played three seasons in the league (2000-02).