WNBA to add expansion team in Portland, bringing league to 15 franchises

WNBA to add expansion team in Portland, bringing league to 15 franchises


WNBA expansion team coming to Portland in 2026.

Source: WNBA

The WNBA is adding 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 and run by RAJ Sports, an investment firm specifically focused on sports. Lisa Bhathal Merage will be the controlling owner and governor.

“As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in release. “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 in the Moda Center, the same arena as the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers.

The WNBA is in growth mode as its popularity spikes. The Golden State Valkyries will begin play in 2025, followed by teams in Toronto and Portland in the 2026 season.

Portland has had a WNBA team before, but it shut down after a few years in 2002. The addition of the new Portland team underscores booming growth for both the WNBA and women’s sports in general. The National Women’s Soccer League is also in expansion mode and has added several teams since 2022.

RAJ Sports purchased the NWSL’s Portland Thorns in January, in addition to becoming co-owners of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings in 2013.

The 2024 WNBA season has seen record numbers for both in-person attendance and viewership, according to data from the WNBA for the start of the season. The playoffs are set to start 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 to propel the WNBA, leading to a huge jump in the value of the most recent NBA media rights deal.

In May, the WNBA also announced that teams would have leaguewide chartered flights for the first time ever, primarily via Delta Air Lines.



Source

Boeing to cut 17,000 jobs as losses deepen during factory strike
Business

Boeing to cut 17,000 jobs as losses deepen during factory strike

Boeing 737 MAX airliners are pictured at the company’s factory on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Renton, Wash. Stephen Brashear | AP Boeing will cut 10% of its workforce, or about 17,000 people, as the company’s losses mount and a machinist strike that has idled its aircraft factories enters its fifth week. It will also […]

Read More
WNBA to expand Finals to 7 games, add to regular season next year
Business

WNBA to expand Finals to 7 games, add to regular season next year

Napheesa Collier #24 of the Minnesota Lynx scores the game winning basket during the game against the New York Liberty during Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals on October 10, 2024 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.  Nathaniel S. Butler | National Basketball Association | Getty Images Basketball fans will have even more […]

Read More
Jeff Shell is about to lead Paramount. He may have runway to make bold changes he couldn’t at NBC
Business

Jeff Shell is about to lead Paramount. He may have runway to make bold changes he couldn’t at NBC

Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, speaks during a conference at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France, June 22, 2022.  Eric Gaillard | Reuters Less than two years after NBCUniversal fired Jeff Shell for alleged sexual harassment, the former CEO is close to finding himself back in the saddle leading a storied […]

Read More