WNBA expansion: League to bring franchise back to Portland after more than 20 years, per report

The WNBA is making a return to Portland after an original expansion team folded in 2003

By Austin Nivison Aug 31, 2024 at 10:57 am ET• 1 min read

The WNBA might soon be returning to Portland, Oregon. According to Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report, the WNBA is set to announce that the Rose City has been awarded an expansion team with the Bhathal family as the owners.

An official announcement from the WNBA is slated for Sept. 10, per Highkin. When that does happen, it will mark a long-awaited return to Portland for the league. The Portland Fire, along with the Miami Sol, were expansion teams in 2000. However, both franchises lasted just three seasons before folding.

Since then, the popularity of the sport has exploded, and expansion teams in Chicago and Atlanta have been successful. In fact, Portland was close to being awarded an expansion team last year, but that fell through at the last second, and the WNBA announced the Golden State Valkyries out of San Francisco and a still unnamed Toronto team.