11 months ago
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Kendra AndrewsJul 15, 2025, 09:03 AM ET
The Portland Fire are back.
Portland's WNBA enlargement team, which volition begin play successful 2026, announced Tuesday it is readopting the sanction that was held by the city's WNBA squad from 2000-02.
"As a metropolis that has agelong championed women's sports, Portland is acceptable to reclaim its spot successful the WNBA and reignite its transportation to the crippled connected the satellite stage," Portland's interim president Clare Hamill said successful a statement. "We are thrilled to implicit the travel of bringing nonrecreational women's hoops backmost to the Rose City portion honoring the bequest of the archetypal franchise to blaze a new, bold way forward."
The team's wordmark draws inspiration from the 12 bridges that link the metropolis from East to West. One logo, a reddish P, features the silhouette of Mount Hood -- the highest constituent successful Oregon. The different logo is simply a roseate connected fire, a motion to Portland's iconic angiosperm and the team's name.
The occurrence visuals proceed done letterforms inspired by the curved roofline of the Moda Center, the team's location arena.
The Fire volition articulation the league adjacent season, on with the expansion Toronto Tempo, but inactive bash not person a manager oregon wide manager. Team president Inky Son near the organization past period aft little than 3 months connected the job.
Still, determination is excitement surrounding the instrumentality of a WNBA squad to Portland, with the enactment announcing it has surpassed 10,000 season-ticket deposits.
Portland was awarded the league's 15th enlargement squad past twelvemonth nether the enactment of Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage of RAJ Sports.
"Portland has agelong stood astatine the forefront of women's sports, and with astir 11,000 play summons deposits to date, this assemblage has made it wide they're acceptable to clasp the instrumentality of women's nonrecreational basketball," Merage said successful a statement. "We're arrogant to reignite the Portland Fire and can't hold to invited caller and longtime fans to the Moda Center successful 2026."
In summation to the Tempo, the WNBA volition adhd 3 much enlargement teams successful Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia successful 2028, 2029 and 3030.
