The WNBA expansion team will arrive in Portland in 2026.
Source: WNBA
The WNBA will add its 15th team in Portland, the third new franchise as part of its most recent expansion, the league announced Wednesday.
The Portland team, which was not named in a WNBA release, will begin play in 2026 and will be owned by RAJ Sports, an investment firm focused specifically on sports. Lisa Bhathal Merage will be the majority owner and governor.
“As the WNBA navigates a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “Portland has been an epicenter of the women's sports movement and is home to a passionate community of basketball fans.”
The Portland team will play at the Moda Center, the same arena as the NBA's Portland Trailblazers.
The team's owners will take community input into account in helping to choose the franchise's name, Bhathal Merage said at Wednesday night's news conference. They are also committed to building a practice facility for Portland's WNBA team and a training facility for the Portland Thorns, according to Alex Bhathal, who will be the alternate governor for the WNBA team.
RAJ Sports purchased the NWSL's Portland Thorns in January, in addition to becoming part-owner of the NBA's Sacramento Kings in 2013.
The WNBA is on the rise as its popularity increases. The Golden State Valkyries will begin play in 2025, followed by Toronto and Portland in the 2026 season.
Portland already had a WNBA team, but it folded after a few years in 2002. The addition of Portland's new team underscores the surge in growth for both the WNBA and women's sports in general. The National Women's Soccer League is also in expansion mode, adding several teams since 2022.
The 2024 WNBA season has seen record attendance and viewership figures, according to WNBA data from the start of the season. The playoffs are scheduled to begin on Sept. 22.
A combination of existing stars like A'ja Wilson and an exciting rookie class headlined by Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have helped boost the WNBA, leading to a huge jump in the value of the NBA's latest media rights deal.
In May, the WNBA also announced that teams would have league-wide charter flights for the first time, primarily through Delta Air Lines.
