The WNBA is adding a franchise in Portland. The Oregon team will be the league’s 15th and will be owned by the Bhathal family, who emerged from among multiple interested bidders.
News of the new franchise and the selected ownership group had previously been reported.
The Bhathal family has been limited partners in the NBA’s Sacramento Kings for more than a decade and this year won the NWSL’s Portland franchise. They also own stakes in the minor league baseball Sacramento Rivercats and NBA G-League’s Stockon Kings.
The family is best known for Raj Swim, a swimwear business formed by Raj Bhathal in the 1960s after he emigrated from India to Southern California. His grandchildren Alex and Lisa head business efforts today, including Raj Sports, the commercial real estate investment fund Revitate and Raj Capital, which has investments in businesses including Therabody and oil-and-gas industry investment fund Five Point Energy.
This is Portland’s second shot at sustaining a WNBA franchise; the Portland Fire folded after three seasons in 2002. “As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward,” league commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a press release Wednesday.
Last year the WNBA added its first expansion franchise since Atlanta in 2008. The Golden State Valkyries, owned by the Golden State Warriors, will begin play in 2025, while another expansion team in Toronto begins play in 2026, the same season the new Portland team will begin competition. The as-yet-unnamed team will play in the Moda Center in downtown Portland.
The average WNBA franchises worth $96 million, with a range of $55 million (Atlanta) to $140 million (Las Vegas). Helped by young stars including Caitlin Clark, the league has been enjoying a resurgence in 2024, recently securing a media deal that likely provides a 500% annual increase in TV money compared to the prior one.
With assistance from Jason Clinkscales
