On Sept. 18 2024, it was announced that the city of Portland is going to receive an expansion team in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in their mission to add more teams to the league. There isn’t much known about the team, since no team name or logo has been announced. However, we do know that it will be owned by Lisa Bhathal Merage, co-founder of RAJ Sports, a sports investment firm, and that the team will start playing in 2026. Bhathal Merage and her brother Alex Bhathal also own the Portland Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
This is not the first time the Rose City has had a WNBA team; in 2000 the city was home to the Portland Fire. However, after three seasons and zero playoff appearances, the team folded in 2002, making an unremarkable impact. Since then, the world of women’s sports has grown into something entirely different, and women’s basketball seems to be going nowhere but up.
Along with an expansion team heading to Portland, the WNBA will also welcome new teams in San Francisco, CA and Toronto, ON, bringing the total number of teams in the league to 15 by 2026. It’s a great time for the addition of three new teams, as TV ratings for the WNBA have soared this season with Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) seeing a 170% increase in viewership since 2023 and ION TV seeing a 133% increase.
Portland was almost given a team in 2023 that would have started playing in 2025, but there were complications with the potential owner Kirk Brown and the WNBA. According to the Oregonian, Brown wanted the team to be called “Rose City Royalty,” which didn’t sit well with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Many worried that Brown’s ownership of “Shoot 360,” a basketball training center with multiple locations around the country, could be a conflict of interest. After these numerous issues, Brown withdrew from the deal at the last minute.
This new team has garnered a lot of excitement around Oregon, as this will be Portland’s fourth professional team and could strengthen the basketball culture in Oregon. I spoke to Kelly Graves, the head coach of the women’s basketball team at the University of Oregon, about his thoughts: “This is great for Portland, now that kids can go to easily accessible games and watch women play with their own eyes, that’s a huge influence.” He also talked about the Pacific Northwest rivalry, saying, “It’s great to have two teams in the Pacific Northwest again and I think that rivalry with the [Seattle] Storm will bring viewers to the game.” He continued about the growth of the league, saying, “I don’t think this is the last of the expansion we’re going to see, although it won’t happen immediately.” There are 12 teams in the WNBA right now — only half the number of teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) — but these three new teams provide hope for even more new teams to come.
I asked Peyton Miles, a senior and varsity women’s basketball player at Franklin, about what kind of impact she believes the new team will have. “I think it’s gonna have a very positive impact on women’s sports.” She elaborated saying, “With the NWSL and the Portland Thorns, there’s a lot of people that go to their games, and a lot of girls look up to those athletes. I think being able to go and watch games in the city will really help women’s basketball in Portland.” The Thorns have been in the Top Three in attendance for 2022 and 2023, according to Soccer Stadium Digest. The new WNBA team should bring a boost to women’s athletics, and inspire kids who will soon be able to see their favorite players play in person.
Although information is limited, the excitement in Portland, and the rest of the basketball world is evident. Portland is known for supporting their sports teams, and this new team will likely be no different.
