The WNBA is officially coming to Portland, Oregon, again.
On Wednesday, the league (finally!) confirmed that Portland will be home to the organization’s 15th franchise. This comes after the WNBA’s social media team teased an expansion team announcement on Tuesday and several weeks after Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report reported that the city was securing a team.
This is also a tremendous turn of events after Portland was reportedly “deferred” from consideration over renovation concerns at the Moda Center last year. Portland will begin play during the 2026 season (along with the WNBA’s Toronto expansion team) and will be owned and operated by RAJ Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal.
https://twitter.com/WNBA/status/1836390888668569727
https://twitter.com/wnbaportland/status/1836393381372792891
Of course, WNBA fans were totally stoked. Here’s how they reacted to the news:
https://twitter.com/sunkisses4bella/status/1836393200019251352
https://twitter.com/relmyers/status/1836391360410132505
https://twitter.com/evanempdx/status/1836392026947907811
https://twitter.com/ShezzaIsBack/status/1836392333539184642
https://twitter.com/ErikZarins/status/1836391511061143956
https://twitter.com/Christy51WScott/status/1836391352323527004
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=117952]