WNBA greats Nneka Ogwumike of the Seattle Storm and Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury at a women's NCAA Tournament watch party at Spirit of 77 on March 29, 2024, in Portland, Ore.
Kyra Buckley / OPB
Portland fans of women’s basketball are celebrating the start of the WNBA season Tuesday, even though the city has yet to secure a team. Still, Portland has cemented itself as a women’s basketball hub. Here’s where things stand in the Rose City as the 28th WNBA season gets underway.
Portland was a finalist for getting a WNBA team back in October. What happened?
The WNBA is expanding from its current 12 to 14 teams in 2026. The Portland deal fell through over concerns about construction plans for the Moda Center and nearby Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Instead, the league awarded new franchises to the Bay Area and Toronto, Canada. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has indicated she wants the league to grow to 16 teams or more by the end of the decade — and that Portland is still in the running for a team — but nothing is official.
Related: Potential WNBA expansion team for Portland shelved for now
If there’s no pro team in Portland, why is the start of the season important here?
Portland has gained a reputation as a women’s basketball city. In part, it’s because there are well-supported college teams like Oregon State University, University of Oregon and University of Portland. Also, other women’s pro sports, namely soccer, are flourishing here and many of those fans also love basketball.
Related: March Madness weekend placed Portland in the middle of growing women’s sports industry
“I just feel like Portland, everyone in Portland, they’re ride or die,” All-Star WNBA player Nneka Ogwumike with the Seattle Storm told OPB. “They follow sports like there is a team here, and we need that in more places. We really, really do. I’m really very grateful for a city like Portland. It deserves a team – I expect a team here.”
Where do fans watch games in Portland?
The Sports Bra, a Northeast Portland bar that only plays women’s sports on the screens, March 27, 2024. Jenny Nguyen opened the bar in 2022.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Look no further than the Sports Bra, the Northeast Portland bar that made national headlines when it opened two years ago. The restaurant and bar is dedicated to playing only women’s sports on its TVs. Owner Jenny Nguyen has said she wanted a welcoming space to watch women’s games, and she believed other Portlanders craved the same thing.
The bar recently announced it will offer franchise opportunities thanks in part to funding from Reddit’s co-founder.
The women’s NCAA tournament just smashed viewership records. What about the WNBA?
Professional women’s sports traditionally have had little air time on national TV. But this season a larger share of games will be televised on stations like ESPN, ABC and CBS, and the league has also entered into media arrangements with Amazon and other streaming platforms.
Rookies like Caitlin Clark of Indiana, Angel Reese of Chicago and Cameron Brink — who played high school ball in Beaverton — of Los Angeles are expected to draw a lot of viewers who just watched them in the NCAA tournament. Olympic gold medalist and legendary Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi told OPB there have always been great players like Clark, but now they’re getting more media attention.
“Right now women’s sports in general is on the radar,” Taurasi said when she was in Portland for March Madness. “It’s on the radar for a lot of companies and sponsorships and it’s on TV, and I think that’s what you need. The game’s always been great. There’s nothing new under the sun… the difference is we’re household names now, and that’s something that’ll propel us going forward.”
How do new fans get involved?
Games are already more accessible this season than they have been in previous years. On top of that, there has been more media focus on telling stories of individual players, allowing fans to find a player they connect with. The WNBA has players from a wide range of backgrounds, the majority of the league is made up of women of color, there’s strong queer representation and there’s a growing number of international players. Pick a team or a player and follow them through the season.
Games start Tuesday May 14 at 4 p.m. PDT.