Indiana Fever star rookie Caitlin Clark is so popular that the Women’s National Basketball Association is adding a brand new expansion team to the league, according to reports.
With the huge spike in popularity that Clark and several other rookies have brought to the WNBA, the league is looking to start up a new team in Portland, Oregon, according to the Daily Mail.
This is not the first time Portland has had a WNBA team. The West Coast city had the Fire from 2000 to 2022 before it folded due to a lack of interest.
However, the league is confident that Portland can sustain a team and has announced that the yet-unnamed team will begin playing by the 2026 season.
The expansions have been ongoing. This year, the WNBA added the Golden State Valkyries in California and a team in Toronto, Canada—inventively called “The Toronto.” The Valkyries are set to tip off in 2025, while Toronto will begin playing in 2026.
“The league in recent months has added its most anticipated rookie class ever; signed a groundbreaking new media rights deal; and shattered records for viewership, attendance, (and) merchandise sales,” the WNBA said in a statement on Wednesday.
“As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward,” NBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “Portland has been an epicenter of the women’s sports movement and is home to a passionate community of basketball fans.”
The new team in Portland will be owned and operated by RAJ Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal.
RAJ Capital already owns a growing stable of sports franchises and entertainment operations, including Sacramento Basketball Holdings, which owns the Sacramento Kings of the NBA, the Stockton Kings of the G-League, Kings Guard Gaming of NBA 2K, MiLB’s River Cats, Golden 1 Center and Downtown Commons entertainment and sports district, among others.
The new Portland team will play out at the Moda Center in downtown Portland.
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