The WNBA is headed back to Portland, with Oregon’s biggest city getting an expansion team that will begin play in 2026.
FILE - WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks to the media before the WNBA basketball draft on Monday, April 15, in New York.
Some 300 invited guests attended a kickoff event at Portland’s Moda Center on Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 18, 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. “It really wasn’t our intention when we came to the Portland community, but we saw the opportunity, the stars aligned and here we are. We are at the epicenter of women’s professional sports,” Bhathal Merage said.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek was unable to attend at the Moda Center, home of the Portland Trail Blazers, but issued a statement. Portland had a WNBA team, the Fire, from 2000 until it folded in 2002. That franchise averaged more than 8,000 fans when games were played at the Rose Garden. The new franchise will play at the same arena, now known as the Moda Center, and the Bhathals plan to build a dedicated practice facility for the team as well.
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