Women's National Basketball Association is making a comeback to the Pacific Northwest, with Portland, Oregon, being awarded an expansion franchise set to debut in 2026. This new team, owned by RAJ Sports, will be the league's 15th franchise and joins the Golden State Valkyries and a Toronto team in the current expansion wave.
This announcement marks the WNBA's return to Portland after more than two decades, as the city previously hosted the Portland Fire from 2000 to 2002. The team will play its home games at the Moda Center, the same venue that houses the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.
“As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward. 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," WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a press release.
RAJ Sports invested $125 million to secure the franchise, according to The Associated Press. The team will be led by controlling owner Lisa Bhathal Merage, who also serves as governor for the NWSL's Portland Thorns. Her brother, Alex Bhathal, will take on the role of alternate governor.
“For decades, Portland has been the global epicenter of sports lifestyle and today, we are now the global epicenter of women’s sports. We believe in the transformative power of women’s sports and are thrilled that the W will call Portland home. We know that Portland’s vibrant and diverse communities will highly support and rally around this team. Our goal is to grow this organization in partnership with the Portland community and we look forward to supporting the best women’s basketball players in the world when they take the floor at the Moda Center in
2026,"Merage said via ESPN.
"It's an exciting time. It's fun to be able to create a new team from scratch. Our hope is by the spring we'll have an announcement, but we do of course have deadlines if we want to have more customized jerseys with Nike and things like that," she added.
This expansion reflects the WNBA's ongoing growth and commitment to bringing top-tier women's basketball to cities with passionate sports communities. Fans in Portland can look forward to an exciting new chapter in the city's sports history as the WNBA returns to its vibrant basketball culture.
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