It’s already been a big night for the WNBA as Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark continues her historic season. However, another hot topic concerns the W’s expansion efforts. According to The Rose Garden Report’s Sean Highkin, “Portland is closing in on finally landing a team that will begin playing in 2026. The Bhathal family, which is well-connected to the Sacramento Kings, will head the new ownership group.
WNBA To Announce New Expansion Team On Sep. 10
Of note, Lisa Bhathal Merage and her brother Alex Bhathal being the children of Kings principal co-owner Raj Bhathal gave them an advantage in negotiations.
“Another group headed by the private equity firm Monarch Collective, with investments from celebrities with local ties including Damian Lillard, had also been working on a bid for a Portland WNBA expansion team. But sources involved in the process say the Bhathals had a significant edge from the beginning due to their pre-existing relationship with the NBA, which spans over 10 years that they’ve been part of the Kings’ ownership group.”
Now, the Bhathal family and the WNBA are set to announce the expansion team on Sept. 10, per Highkin. The name and logo will be revealed at a later date, though it’s possible that they reclaim the Fire. The Portland Fire were active from 2000 to 2002, financial difficulties leading them to dissolve rapidly.
Interestingly, the Fire were able to draft a Rookie of the Year and All-Star— Jackie Stiles —in 2001.
The Second Time’s The Charm
This is the second time that Portland has tried to land an expansion team. Last fall, a deal a fell through with ZoomInfo co-founder Kirk Brown. According to Highkin, “it was close enough to official that a date was set last October for a press conference to announce it.” However, contrary to the official reports, “Brown’s group bailed on the effort at the last minute…”
In November, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert wrote a letter to Oregon senator Ron Wyden stating that due to “the potential renovation of the Moda Center currently anticipated to take place during consecutive summers, consideration of a WNBA franchise for Portland will be deferred for now until the timing and scope of the arena improvements are settled.”
The Portland franchise was supposed to begin playing in 2025 with the Golden State Valkryies. Instead, they’ll play in 2026 with Toronto’s unnamed expansion team. The host city for the last franchise the WNBA is expected to add by 2028 has yet to be decided.
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