The WNBA logo on the ball is seen as it is tipped during the game between the Seattle Storm and the Las Vegas Aces at Climate Pledge Arena on July 10, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP
The WNBA, enjoying a record-shattering season of growth, announced Wednesday it will add an expansion club in Portland, Oregon, for the 2026 season.
The league, boosted by star rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese in its 28th season, has had record attendance and television viewership this year as well as a record media rights deal.
The Portland club will be owned by RAJ Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, also the owners of The National Women’s Soccer League’s Portland Thorns.
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Portland, which had a WNBA team called the Fire from 2000-2002, becomes the third expansion host city for the WNBA, with the Golden State Valkyries to launch in San Francisco in 2025 and a Toronto team to start with Portland in 2026.
“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.
The team will play in the Moda Center, the same arena used by the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers.