Portland is welcoming a new WNBA team in 2026 for the first time in more than 20 years, marking professional women’s basketball’s long-awaited return to Oregon.

Portland Fire, whose name and logo were revealed July 15, is a nod back to the Rose City’s former WNBA team, which played between 2000 and 2002.

The team is set to return as the league’s 15th franchise.

“As a city that has long championed women’s sports, Portland is ready to reclaim its place in the WNBA and reignite its connection to the game on the world stage,” Portland Fire Interim President Clare Hamill said in a news release. “We are thrilled to complete the journey of bringing professional women’s basketball back to the Rose City, while honoring the legacy of the original franchise to blaze a new, bold path forward.”

Who owns the Portland Fire WNBA team?

Portland Fire is owned by RAJ Sports of RAJ Capital, which also owns the Portland Thorns.

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Raj Sports announced in February a “Groundbreaking Women’s Performance Center” for Portland Fire and the Portland Thorns, which will feature a “first of its kind” facility serving both women’s professional soccer and women’s professional basketball.

Why was Portland Fire chosen as the name for the new WNBA team?

After much speculation over what the team’s new name would be, RAJ Sports opted to revive the name of Portland’s original WNBA team.

“We looked at many different names, but this one really stuck out,” Karina LeBlanc, executive vice president of strategic growth at RAJ Sports, told Oregon Public Broadcasting. “I’m coming from a sense of being an athlete – that fire that you have to represent your city, that passion that you have for what it’s about, and what the fire did for the city in the start.”

What does the new Portland Fire logo look like?

While the name is familiar, Portland Fire has a new, reimagined version of its logo. The logo features a red, blue, pink, and brown color palette representative of the Rose City’s nickname.

When was the last time Portland Fire appeared in the WNBA?

The original Portland Fire launched in 2000 as a counterpart to the Portland Trail Blazers and played in the WNBA for three seasons before folding.

In 2002, the Trail Blazers’ leadership was given the option to either purchase the Fire, secure a third-party buyer, or let the team fold. The Trail Blazers declined to purchase the team, and no other outside buyers emerged, according to OPB.

During the past decade, the WNBA has grown in popularity. It is expected to expand to 18 teams by 2030, according to ESPN.

Ginnie Sandoval is the Oregon Connect reporter for the Statesman Journal. Sandoval can be reached at GSandoval@gannett.com or on X at@GinnieSandoval.