The WNBA’s Portland expansion team is reigniting the flames of history ahead of its 2026 debut.
On Tuesday, the league’s 15th franchise announced the team is reviving a familiar name: the Portland Fire.
The organization, owned by RAJ Sports since 2024, is reimagining the name from the WNBA’s original Fire franchise that launched in 2000 before folding after three seasons. ‘Portland is the city where our fire never died, and the passion to compete still burns,’ a video developed for the announcement said.
The revelation confirms a June 2025 report of multiple filed trademark applications related to the team’s nickname.
A new logo and a striking red, blue, brown and pink color palette was also shared, leaning into a modern reimagining of the team’s nickname in the Rose City. The reemergence of the city’s WNBA team also comes with plans for a first-of-its-kind dual-sport women’s performance center to be shared with the NSWL’s Portland Thorns, also owned by RAJ Sports.
‘There’s a vision that is tied to a goal to make Portland the global epicenter of women’s sports,’ interim president Clare Hamill told USA TODAY. ‘So that’s a big vision, and these two teams, the Thorns and the Portland Fire, fit squarely into that. There’s a vision about having an impact and connecting deeply to Portland and the culture of Portland and the fans with this team, and being a part of [the city] again.’
The excitement around the Fire is already heating up. Portland has surpassed 10,000 season ticket deposits and is reportedly on track to surpass a previous WNBA season ticket record set by the Golden State Valkyries earlier this year. The Valkyries have seemingly become the unofficial standard for expansion franchises in the W.
‘They’ve crushed it,’ Hamill said. ‘I mean, they have done a fantastic job. They’ve done it because they’ve focused on the fans and the fan experience and the audiences that they serve.’
Still, the former Nike executive says despite the desire to excel immediately, there also remains a need to be patient to avoid the pitfalls of the past. In Portland’s eyes, it starts with fans and giving them front row access to the team and opportunities to be involved.
‘The biggest lesson is how involved the fans were and how big a fan base [Portland] had. I mean, even for 2001 and 2002, just attendance at the games. I even talked to one of the former players, and all she could talk about was just the fans when she played here. And so I think if we can fill that gap now and say, ‘Welcome back to the Portland Fire and take a look at this new modern future’ … that’s a lesson.’
Portland joins a wave of WNBA franchises expected by 2030. Next season, the Toronto Tempo will make their WNBA debut before Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia begin play in the years that follow. “The demand for women’s basketball has never been higher,’ commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently said.
“This historic expansion is a powerful reflection of our league’s extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game, and the surging demand for investment in women’s professional basketball. We are excited for what these cities will bring to the league – and are confident that these new teams will reshape the landscape of women’s basketball.”