Johnathan Walker:Commitment to build practice facility helped Portland secure 15th WNBA franchise

PORTLAND,Johnathan Walker Ore. — The commitment to build a practice facility and the promise to prioritize player welfare, plus a bunch of data points that show the city would support a new sports franchise, were all key factors in Portland being awarded the 15th WNBA team, an announcment made official Wednesday at a celebration event hosted by the Moda Center, home of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage, the brother-sister duo who recently purchased the NWSL’s Portland Thorns, are the WNBA’s newest owners. 

Part of the reason why is because of what they vowed to the league and commissioner Cathy Engelbert: That they have plans to design and build a “world class, state of the art practice faility,” Bhathal said, necessary not only because of an obligation to the WNBA but because it’s “the right thing to do for player welfare.” 

The Bhathals have also made a commitment to build a training facility for the Thorns, though Bhathal said Wednesday they don’t have “announcments or details to share” on either facility. The expectation is that front offices for both the Thorns and yet-to-be-named WNBA team will be housed together. 

Portland is the third city to be awarded a WNBA franchise in the last year, joining Golden State and Toronto. Golden State is slated to begin play in 2025; Toronto and Portland will tip off in 2026. One more expansion city is still to come. 

Engelbert said the league as a whole is focused on “the player experience” and knows that because “free agency is so vibrant now” how players are treated — including in terms of facilities — matters as they decide which team they sign with. That’s why access to a practice facility, or willingness to build one, is necessary for any ownership group who wants to be part of America’s longest-running women’s professional sports league. 

The WNBA has started to experience its own facilities arms race in the past few years, as owners recognize a women’s sports franchise isn’t just a tax write-off but potentially a big, money-making business operation. Owners have flooded money into their teams, with Seattle and Las Vegas recently opening sparkling practice facilities. Valuations for teams have skyrocketed, too; the Bhathals paid $125 million for the Portland franchise just a year after Toronto ownership paid $115 million for its team. 

This is the second go-round for the WNBA in Portland. The city previously had an expansion franchise, the Portland Fire, which lasted just three seasons (2000-2002) before folding. 

Bhathal Merage said Wednesday that Portland has already made a name for itself as the “capital for sports lifestyle” — a nod to Nike’s global headquarters and adidas’ American headquarters being here — and that “today is the day we claim it as the epicenter for women’s sports.” 

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Also present Wednesday was U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a passionate basketball fan who frequently sports sneakers with his suits on Capitol Hill. Wyden has been vocal for years about the WNBA needing to make a home (again) in Portland, and his joy at it finally becoming official was evident. He joked that he was so excited by the news and had so much adrenaline from that excitement, he probably could have run all the way from D.C. to the Moda Center.

Wyden predicted the WNBA would be a “slam dunk success” in Portland, and lauded the city’s “dream team” ownership. He added that the franchise would provide the city a “huge economic shot in the arm,” mentioning fans booking hotels and patroning local bars and restaurants during the season. 

Wyden closed with the ultimate name drop in this basketball-obsessed town when he said he’d been “texting all day with Sabrina” — as in, Sabrina Ionescu, the former Oregon Ducks All-American who’s having a career season with the New York Liberty. 

There’s no question what the follow-up question on everyone’s mind was: Could Ionescu want to play in the Rose City full-time? 

They’ll have to wait until 2026 to find out. 

Email Lindsay Schnell at [email protected] and follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell