The WNBA is headed back to Portland, with Oregon's biggest city getting an expansion team that will begin play in 2026. The team will be owned and operated by Raj Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal. They paid $125 million for the franchise.
FILE - WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks to the media before the WNBA basketball draft on Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. The WNBA is headed back to Portland , with Oregon ’s biggest city getting an expansion team that will begin play in 2026.
Some 300 invited guests attended a kickoff event at Portland’s Moda Center on Wednesday afternoon with the Bhathals, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and other state and local officials. Afterward, there was community-wide event outside the stadium. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek was unable to attend at the Moda Center, home of the Portland Trail Blazers, but issued a statement.
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