WNBA awards Portland 15th franchise
The WNBA officially awarded its 15th franchise to Portland, the league announced Wednesday.
The future Oregon-based franchise will begin play in the 2026 season along with Toronto's expansion team.
RAJ Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, will own and operate Portland's WNBA team.
The Bhathal family has invested in the NBA's Sacramento Kings and are the controlling owners of the National Women's Soccer League's Portland Thorns.
"As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward," WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. "Portland has been an epicenter of the women's sports movement and is home to a passionate community of basketball fans.
"Pairing this energy with the Bhathal family's vision of leading top-flight professional sports teams will ensure that we deliver a premier WNBA team to the greater Portland area."
Portland will play its home games at the Moda Center, which hosts the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.
It'll be the WNBA's second go-around in the Beaver State after the short-lived Portland Fire in the early 2000s.