Portland Awarded WNBA Franchise
The WNBA is headed back to Portland, with Oregon’s biggest city getting an expansion team that will begin play in 2026.
On Wednesday morning, the league announced it awarded a franchise to a group from Portland, Oregon. That organization will join the Golden State Valkyries (beginning play in 2025) and a team in Toronto as the third expansion team announced in just under a year.
Team Ownership
The team will be owned and operated by Raj Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, who also own the Portland Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League. They paid $125 million for the franchise.
WNBA Continues Rapid Growth
The league announced a $2.2 billion media rights deal in July that will drastically alter finances, directly affecting the salary cap and player salaries. The players are expected to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement by the end of this year, and a new deal will be in place for the 2026 season.
Portland Plans
The Portland team plans to play at Moda Center, home of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. Alex Bhathal told ESPN that the team may play elsewhere temporarily with the arena having renovations scheduled. He also said they intend to build a new practice facility.
“For decades, Portland has been the global epicenter of sports lifestyle and today, we are now the global epicenter of women’s sports,” Lisa Bhathal Merage, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of RAJ Capital said in a statement. “We believe in the transformative power of women’s sports and are thrilled that the W will call Portland home. We know that Portland’s vibrant and diverse communities will highly support and rally around this team.”
