Indiana Fever star rookie Caitlin Clark is reportedly so popular that the Women's National Basketball Association is planning to add a new expansion team to the league.
The surge in popularity that Clarke and several other rookies have brought to the WNBA has led to the league Watching The new team will be starting in Portland, Oregon. Daily Mail.
This isn't the first time Portland has had a WNBA team: The West Coast city was home to the Fire from 2000 to 2022, but disbanded due to lack of interest.
But the league is confident Portland will be able to keep its team, and announced that the as-yet-unnamed team will begin play by the 2026 season.
The expansion continues: This year, the WNBA added California's Golden State Valkyries and a team in Toronto, Canada, creatively named “The Torontos.” The Valkyries are scheduled to start play in 2025, while Toronto will begin play in 2026.
“In recent months, the league has signed some of its most anticipated rookies ever, signed groundbreaking new media rights deals and broken records in viewership, attendance and merchandise sales,” the WNBA said in a statement. statement on wednesday.
“Bringing a team back to Portland this season marks an important step forward as the WNBA experiences unprecedented growth,” said NBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “Portland is the epicenter of the women's sports movement and home to a community of passionate basketball fans.”
The new Portland team will be owned and operated by RAJ Sports, led by Lisa Basal-Meraj and Alex Basal.
RAJ Capital The company already owns a growing suite of sports franchises and entertainment businesses, including Sacramento Basketball Holdings, which owns the NBA's Sacramento Kings, the G League's Stockton Kings, NBA 2K's Kings Guard Gaming, MiLB's RiverCats, Golden 1 Center and the Downtown Commons Entertainment and Sports District.
The new Portland team will play its games at the Moda Center in downtown Portland.
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