When will Portland's WNBA team become active? Closer look at details as league selects newest expansion team

Over the past year, the WNBA has announced a pair of expansion teams coming in the near future. On Wednesday morning, news emerged that another new team is coming down the pike.

Golden State and Toronto were the latest cities to get an expansion team, and now Portland is being added to that list. The league announced that this franchise is set to launch in 2026. It will become the 15th team in the league .

Portland is not new to professional women's basketball, as it had a team in the early 2000s. The Portland Fire were established in 2000 but was forced to fold by 2002.

The city also has a rich basketball history, being home to an NBA franchise for decades now. In a few short years, basketball fans in Portland will have another viewing option outside of the rebuilding Trail Blazers.

Another expansion team is a testament to the recent boom in women's basketball. The league has seen rapid growth in attendance, viewership and popularity. With things trending in the right direction, the WNBA is adding expansion teams for the first time in over 15 years.

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Portland's WNBA expansion team likely to share venue with Trail Blazers

As far as where this new team will play, reports suggest that the inaugural season will be played at Moda Center. This is also the home of the Trail Blazers, which shouldn't be an issue since the WNBA and NBA seasons don't run on the same timeline.

Another venue in the Portland area that is being tossed around is the Blazers' old venue, Veterans Memorial Coliseum. TheTrail Blazers haven't played there since the mid-90s, and the building is reportedly only occupied by a minor league team.

Before even Portland's WNBA franchise gets off the ground, talks have already begun about it getting a training facility. It could potentially be shared with the city's National Women's Soccer League Team, the Portland Thorns.

"We will be investing in a training center for the WNBA as well as the Thorns," Alex Bhathal said, who along with Bhathal Merage, is a majority owner of the NWSL's Portland Thorns. "Those are commitments that we have made. They'll be first-class, state-of-the-art facilities."

Moving forward, the league is going to have its work cut out. Rolling out three expansion teams in two years won't be an easy feat. Nonetheless, continued expansion is already being discussed. League commissioner Cathy Engelbert already said that a 16th team could be launched by 2028.