Portland to Receive WNBA Expansion Franchise, Set to Tip Off in 2026

Women's professional basketball is back in the Rose City.

Mar 17, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; General view of the Portland skyline and the Williamette River. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

After nearly a quarter-century away, women's professional basketball is set to return to Portland.

Oregon's largest city will receive a WNBA expansion team in 2026, the league announced Wednesday morning. The team will become the WNBA's 15th active franchise, following the scheduled additions of expansion franchises in the Bay Area and Toronto.

“As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a league statement. “Portland has been an epicenter of the women’s sports movement and is home to a passionate community of basketball fans."

The team will be owned by Lisa Bhathal Merage—the daughter of Sacramento Kings co-chairman Raj Bhathal. Their family's company also owns the Portland Thorns, the city's well-supported NWSL team.

Portland previously had a WNBA franchise from 2000 to 2002; the Portland Fire struggled to a 37–59 combined record and folded. Like the Fire, the new team will share an arena—the Moda Center—with the Portland Trail Blazers.

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