RAJ Sports was part of the investment group, led by Vivek Ranadive, that purchased the Sacramento Kings in 2013, which also included ownership of the Stockton Kings of the G-League and the Sacramento River Cats in Minor League Baseball. Currently, RAJ Sports owns one of the three major sports franchises already in play in Portland, in the Portland Thorns of the NWSL.
“Portland has been an epicenter of the women’s sports movement and is home to a passionate community of basketball fans. Pairing this energy with the Bhathal family’s vision of leading top-flight professional sports teams will ensure that we deliver a premier WNBA team to the greater Portland area.”
As Engelbert mentioned, Portland previously had a WNBA franchise as the Portland Fire operated from 2000 to 2002. It never had a winning record in any of those three seasons and is the only current or former WNBA franchise to never make the postseason. The WNBA owned the Fire, and when the league moved from central ownership to individual owners in 2002, the Fire ceased operations. This will be the first time the WNBA returns to a city it previously left.
The Fire name is still possible for this new Portland franchise, but the official name will be announced later. What has been established is that the team will play its home games at the Moda Center in downtown Portland. The arena is also home to the Portland Trail Blazers, making the Moda Center the sixth venue to be home to both a current NBA team and WNBA team.
During the official announcement ceremony in the Rose Quarter, the franchise’s co-owner and alternate governor, Alex Bhathal, praised the city for providing the type of local support that made the WNBA receptive to bringing a team back to Portland.
He also issued a challenge to Portlanders in anticipation of the team’s 2026 tipoff, with hopes of filling up the Moda Center, which has a capacity of 19,393.
“I’ll leave you with a challenge for our community,” said Bhathal. “We will begin play in 2026, so let’s show the world that Portland is here to support the WNBA by gathering 20,000 season ticket deposits before we tip off in 2026. 20,000 in 2026, that sounds pretty good. So, let’s go do it together.”
However, the WNBA Portland team may be looking for a temporary home after its inaugural season as the Trail Blazers, who operate the Moda Center, have planned renovations spanning their offseasons from 2027 to 2029 in anticipation of hosting the 2030 NCAA Women’s Final Four. The NBA offseason is when the WNBA season takes place, so the WNBA Portland franchise will be displaced out of the Moda Center for at least two years.
This rapid growth by the WNBA comes during a 17-year spell in which the league added no new teams. The last franchise to join the league was the Atlanta Dream for the 2008 WNBA season, but that was also the final season of the now-defunct Houston Comets. The Sacramento Monarchs would then cease operations in 2009, leaving the WNBA with its current 12 franchises.
