WNBA announces new Portland expansion franchise set to debut in the 2026 season—what this means for the league’s future. Giang

After teasing expansion on Tuesday, the WNBA has confirmed Portland will be home to the 15th franchise in the league.

The WNBA announced the news on Wednesday, adding that the team will begin play in the 2026 season.

It’s been long-rumored that the WNBA would expand, with commissioner Cathy Engelbert telling reporters prior to the draft in April she was “pretty confident” the league would have 16 teams by 2028.

Engelbert cited Portland, Philadelphia, Toronto, Denver and Nashville as potential expansion cities at that time but noted the complexities involved with trying to start a new franchise from scratch:

“It’s complex because you need the arena and practice facility and player housing and all the things you need, committed long-term ownership groups. And so, the nice thing is we’re getting a lot of calls, we’re continuing to engage with cities. … These can either take a very long time to negotiate or it can happen pretty quickly if you find the right ownership group with the right arena situation.”

The announcement of a 15th team was teased by the WNBA on Tuesday with a post on X:

This will mark the second time a WNBA team has been based in Portland. The Fire played three seasons in the league from 2000 to ’02 before folding when the league moved from central ownership to individual ownership of their counterpart NBA teams.

Paul Allen, who owned the Portland Trail Blazers at the time, elected not to purchase the Fire. A group led by Blazers legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler and Portland businessman Terry Emmert attempted to buy the franchise, but the Blazers refused the offer and the club ceased operations.

There have been rumblings about Portland’s interest in a WNBA franchise since 2022. The new franchise will be owned and operated by RAJ Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal.

Portland’s franchise is the third WNBA expansion team announced by the league in the past 12 months. The Golden State Valkyries were announced in October 2023, and their first season will be in 2025. Toronto was awarded a franchise in May and will begin play in 2026.