Portland, Get Ready to Hoop: WNBL Announces Thrilling New Team Launch in 2026
WNBA to Introduce New Team in Portland for 2026 Season
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) has announced the introduction of a new team in Portland, Oregon, USA, set to debut in the 2026 season.
The new team will be owned and operated by Raj Sports, a sports team management company, which has paid $125 million (approximately 166.5 billion won) in founding costs, as reported by local media outlets, including the Associated Press.
Raj Sports is a company run by the Battal family, who also own the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Portland Thorns of the Women’s National Soccer League (WNL).
Portland previously had a WNBA team, the Portland Fire, which operated from 2000 to 2002 before being disbanded.
The new team will play its home games at the Moda Center, which is also the home of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers.
The WNBA is currently experiencing a surge in popularity, thanks in part to the arrival of women’s basketball star Kaitlyn Clark, who joined the Indiana Fever.
Clarke’s professional debut in May drew a massive audience of 2.3 million viewers on TV.
This marked the largest viewership for a WNBA game in the United States since 2001, when 2.45 million viewers tuned in for the game between the Los Angeles Sparks and Houston Comets.