U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and Portland Thorns GM Karina LeBlanc tell WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert about Portland's passion for women's sports as the league chooses cities to host two new teams. Feb. 2, 2023
Alex Hasenstab / OPB
Portland is in the running for a WNBA team as the professional women’s basketball league expands ahead of the 2025 season.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Thursday San Francisco has been awarded a team set to begin play in 2025, bringing the league up to a total of 13 teams. Leadership from the NBA’s Golden State Warriors will own the new San Francisco WNBA franchise.
During the announcement, Engelbert said the league’s goal is to grow to 14 teams by the 2025 season – and that many cities are interested, including Portland.
“I’ve made no secret,” Engelbert said, “I’ve been to Portland, I’ve been to Denver, I’ve been to Toronto – we had a sold out pre-season game in Toronto this year – Philadelphia, Charlotte, there’s many cities who have reached out to us.”
In February, Engelbert visited Northeast Portland’s women’s sports bar, The Sports Bra, for an event with local sports leaders and politicians. At that event, Engelbert said that when choosing a city, the league must make sure financial backing such as an owner, corporate sponsors, and a fan base exist for a new team.
Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu, center, questions a call in a college basketball game in this 2020 file photo. Ionescu is one of several athletes from the region who play or played in the WNBA.
Chris Pietsch / AP
Proponents of a Portland team point to the success of other professional women’s sports in the city, plus the proximity to popular college teams in Eugene and Corvallis with strong attendance. Several athletes who competed at Oregon State University or University of Oregon have played in the WNBA, including the 2020 top overall draft pick, Sabrina Ionescu.
It’s unclear exactly when the league will announce the next city for expansion. But in the past, officials have said decisions would come at least a year before play would begin in May 2025.
Portland was previously home to a team for three seasons shortly after the 1997 birth of the WNBA. The Portland Fire joined the league in 2000, but dissolved in 2002. Overall, from 2002 through 2010 the WNBA contracted from 16 teams to the present dozen.
Women’s basketball has been growing in popularity in recent years, and many fans have been clamoring for expansion. The 2023 regular season had the most TV viewers in more than 20 years, and overall the league had the highest attendance in over a dozen years, according to the WNBA.