WNBA announces new expansion team in Portland to begin play in 2026

The WNBA continues to expand, with its newest franchise coming to Portland, Oregon, the league announced Wednesday morning. Toronto, San Francisco and now Portland will each have their own WNBA team, bringing the league to 16 teams by 2026.

This won't be the first time WNBA basketball has been played in Oregon. Portland had a WNBA team, the Portland Fire, from 2000-2002, but the team eventually closed. The league was on the verge of bringing a team to Portland last fall, but plans with a different ownership group fell through. Portland's new WNBA team is scheduled to begin play in 2026.

RAJ Sports is led by an ownership group led by owner Lisa Vassal Meraj and her brother Alex Vassal, who recently acquired professional women's soccer team Portland Thorns FC, which is the third-highest-attended team in the NWSL, averaging more than 18,000 fans per game this season.

“Bringing a team back to Portland this season marks an important step forward as the WNBA experiences unprecedented growth,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. In a statement. “Portland is the epicenter of the women's sports movement and home to a passionate community of basketball fans. Combining this energy with the Vassal family's vision for leading a top-tier professional sports team will deliver a premier WNBA team to the greater Portland area.”

Portland's WNBA team will play its home games at the Moda Center in downtown Portland, home of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.

Two other WNBA expansion teams are already in the works: Golden State in 2025 and Toronto in 2026. Golden State's name and branding has already been announced — the team will be known as the Valkyries — while Toronto's has yet to be announced.

The Valkyries are off to a record-breaking start, already having 17,000 season ticket deposits for next season and unveiling plans for a state-of-the-art facility.

With the Portland team now officially in the mix, the WNBA will consist of 15 teams by 2026. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert previously said the league's goal is to 16 teams by 2028Denver, Nashville, Philadelphia and Charlotte are rumored to be in the running.