Notice The OFFICIAL WNBA Coming To Portland Thread…..

I had no idea filter technology had advanced to that point

 

It's mostly used to turn twitch streamers into anime waifus

 

Your Mrs. is NOT PLEASED that Emmy dug up the old sex tapes.

 

I think they should call them the Portland Ganja - their theme song should be "don't bogart that joint my friend - pass it over to me"!

 

Just don't let any of them go play in Russia.

 

…..tick…tock…tick…tock…..

 

So do we just mention Melo and get this merged with the "Melo thread"?

 

Is that a for sure?

 

WNBA awards Portland an expansion franchise that will begin play in 2026

The WNBA is headed back to Portland with the Oregon city getting an expansion team that will begin play starting in 2026.

The team will be owned and operated by Raj Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal. They paid $125 million for the franchise.

“This is huge for Portland. We are so honored and humbled to be the vessel that delivers this WNBA franchise to Portland,” Lisa Bhathal said. “And that’s really how we consider ourselves. Portland is this incredibly diverse, enthusiastic community. We saw the passion first-hand when we started looking into the Portland Thorns and this is Basketball City. So we’re very excited about the future.”

The Bhathal’s started having conversations with the WNBA late last year after a separate bid to bring a team to Portland fell through.

“I think from our perspective, knowing that the league was interested in coming to Portland, gave us confidence that pursuing the opportunity would be well received by the league,” Alex Bhathal said.

“The idea of expanding our footprint in Portland and being able to create a platform focused on women’s sports in the Portland market and really being able to put the foothold and to put a stake in the ground in Portland and make the mark as the epicenter of a global women’s sport market is something that was really compelling and interesting to us and very deserving by the community of Portland.”

It’s the third expansion franchise the league will add over the next two years with Golden State and Toronto getting the other two. The Golden State Valkyries will begin play next season and Toronto in 2026.

“It’s nice to have the Pacific Northwest kind of locked in now,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.

Engelbert has said she hopes to have more teams by 2028, but doesn’t think that the league will be adding any more that will start playing before 2027.

Portland had a WNBA team, the Fire, from 2000 until 2002 when it folded. That franchise averaged more than 8,000 fans when games were play at the Rose Garden. The new franchise will play at the Moda Center — home of the Trail Blazers. The Bhathals will build a dedicated practice facility for the team as well.

The Bhathal family brings more than 50 years of experience in professional sports, including serving as co-owners of the Sacramento Kings and the controlling owners of the Portland Thorns of the NWSL.

Portland has been a strong supporter of women’s sports from the stellar college teams at Oregon and Oregon State to the Thorns. The Bhathals bought the soccer team for $63 million earlier this year. The franchise is averaging more than 18,000 fans this season.

The city also had the first bar dedicated to women’s sports — The Sports Bra.

“When you look at our numbers, not just the Thorns’ off-the-charts attendance, which is incredible, what you’ve seen, in Eugene, what you’ve seen in Oregon State, we knew that this was going to be one of the great moments in sports for Oregon,” senator Ron Wyden said. “We saw, February of 2023, what was possible. So I can tell you that right now there are women playmaking in Portland. They’re rebounding in Roseburg, they’re hooping in Hermiston. Every nook and cranny of our state is into this.”

 

https://www.wnba.com/news/portland-15th-franchise-announcement

Portland, Oregon Awarded WNBA’s 15th Franchise
Wed, Sep 18, 2024, 6:02 AM
/
Official Release
– RAJ Sports to Launch

Newest WNBA Team, Which Will Debut in 2026 Season –

NEW YORK and PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 18, 2024 – The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced today that it has awarded Portland, Oregon, the league’s 15th franchise. The Portland team, set to begin play in the 2026 season, will be owned and operated by RAJ Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal. Portland is the third expansion franchise awarded by the WNBA during this round of expansion, following the Golden State Valkyries and a Toronto franchise, bringing the league from 12 to 15 teams.

“As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “Portland has been an epicenter of the women’s sports movement and is home to a passionate community of basketball fans. Pairing this energy with the Bhathal family’s vision of leading top-flight professional sports teams will ensure that we deliver a premier WNBA team to the greater Portland area.”

Lisa Bhathal Merage will serve as controlling owner and WNBA Governor, while Alex Bhathal will serve as Alternate Governor. The Bhathal family (Lisa, Alex and their parents, Marta and Raj) brings more than 50 years of experience in the professional sports industry, including serving as investors of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and controlling owners of the National Women’s Soccer League’s Portland Thorns. Ms. Merage’s husband, Richard Merage, will also join the buyer group as an investor and Executive Board member of Portland WNBA. Mr. Merage is the Chief Executive Officer of MIG Capital, LLC, an investment management firm he co-founded in 2006 following the sale of his family’s business, Chef America, to Nestle.

“For decades, Portland has been the global epicenter of sports lifestyle and today, we are now the global epicenter of women’s sports,” said Lisa Bhathal Merage. “We believe in the transformative power of women’s sports and are thrilled that the W will call Portland home. We know that Portland’s vibrant and diverse communities will highly support and rally around this team. Our goal is to grow this organization in partnership with the Portland community and we look forward to supporting the best women’s basketball players in the world when they take the floor at the Moda Center in 2026.”

The team will play its home games at the Moda Center in downtown Portland. Fans who wish to buy season tickets for the WNBA Portland team can do so by placing a deposit at WNBA.com/portland. The new team marks the WNBA’s return to Portland after more than 20 years. The Portland Fire played three seasons in the WNBA from 2000-02.

The latest expansion announcement comes amid the WNBA’s historic 28th season. In addition to announcing three new teams, 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, merchandise sales, social media engagement, digital subscriptions (WNBA League Pass) and app downloads.



Additional Quotes:

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden

“Today puts basketball fans in Portland and all across Oregon in the ‘W” column,” Wyden said. “Our city and entire state have consistently set the gold standard for supporting women’s sports, and I’m thrilled the Bhathal family is expanding its commitment to women’s sports locally by bringing Portland a much-deserved WNBA franchise. I know from hosting Commissioner Engelbert for a roundtable at the Sports Bra in February 2023 with women athletes, women’s sports executives and coaches that enthusiasm for women’s basketball is off the charts. And I can’t wait for this new team to tip off in 2026.”

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek

“Portland has a passion for women’s sports and the teams who play in the Rose City, making us the ideal home of the next WNBA team,” Governor Kotek said. “From the Thorns to the Rose City Rollers to the Sports Bra, Portland embraces a diversity of athletes and fans. This is an exciting new chapter for our city and our state.”

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler

“We are thrilled to welcome the WNBA to Portland, a city renowned for its vibrant sports culture and deep commitment to fostering women’s athletics,” said Mayor Ted Wheeler. “This expansion marks a significant milestone in our city’s sports history and underscores our role as a burgeoning hub for women’s sports. It’s more than basketball; it’s about energizing our community, enhancing our local economy, and celebrating pride in our city.”

RAJ SPORTS

RAJ Sports, led by Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage, focuses on investment opportunities in sports and sports-related properties, drawing on the Bhathal family’s multi-generational experience and relationships in the industry. The firm seeks to leverage the power of sports to affect broader social and economic change through a variety of business and philanthropic strategies. Its deep experience in professional sports operations and large-scale real estate developments that create thriving community centers, positions the firm to deliver valuable assets that will support further growth for the players, staff, and fans. In 2013, the Bhathal family became investors in the Sacramento Kings (NBA); subsequently building the platform to include the Sacramento RiverCats (MiLB), Stockton Kings (NBA G-League) and several sports anchored real estate developments. The 2024 acquisitions of Portland Thorns (NWSL) and the WNBA Portland expansion team represents a milestone for the city of Portland and places it at the epicenter of growth for women’s sports.

About the WNBA

The WNBA is a bold, progressive basketball league that stands for the power of women. Currently in its 28th season in 2024, the W is a unique sports property that combines competition and entertainment with a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and social responsibility. Through its world-class athletes, the in-game fan experience, TV and digital broadcasts, digital and social content, and community and youth outreach programs, the league celebrates and elevates the game of basketball and the culture around it. In 2020, the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) signed a groundbreaking CBA that has charted a new course for women’s basketball – and women’s sports overall – with a focus on increased player compensation, improvements to the player experience, expanded career development opportunities and resources specifically tailored to the female professional athlete. Key elements of the agreement are supported through the league’s partnership platform, the WNBA Changemakers Collective, with AT&T, the WNBA’s Marquee Partner and inaugural Changemaker, as well as fellow inaugural Changemakers Deloitte and NIKE, Inc., and subsequent additions Google, U.S. Bank and CarMax. During the 2020 season, the WNBA and WNBPA launched the WNBA Justice Movement forming the Social Justice Council with the mission of being a driving force of necessary change and continuing work regarding women’s and maternal health and voting rights, among other important societal issues.

 

https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/41311563/wnba-expands-portland-team-begin-play-2026

 

What do you all think about the team name? Go back to the Portland Fire or a new name?

 

Where did the name Fire originate?

 

Yeah, I'd stick with Portland Fire

 

Sabrina likes this story enough to share it on her social media.

 

I agree. I like the Fire name and the Blazers and Fire sound good together.

From the ESPN article: