The WNBA is officially returning to Portland, reviving the Portland Fire name after the original franchise played in the league from 2000 to 2002.
According to KATU, the announcement was made live on Good Morning America from the Sports Bra, a women’s sports bar in northeast Portland.
“Our feeling is that the fire never died,” interim Fire President Clare Hamill said, per KATU. “Fans have been waiting for us to come back, and we’re back with the Portland Fire.”
Speculation about the name had circulated for weeks after trademark filings revealed the league’s interest in reclaiming the Fire name.
The team teased the name on its Instagram account
On Monday, the team’s Instagram account, @wbnaportland, shared a black-and-white image with the text, “Our fire never died.”
The team’s new logo, a flaming rose, is accompanied by a multi-color palette of red, brown, blue, and pink.
What happened to the original Portland Fire franchise?
The original Portland Fire played from 2000 to 2002 at the Rose Garden, now known as the Moda Center, alongside the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. Paul Allen, the late Microsoft co-founder and Trail Blazers owner, served as chairman of the WNBA team before he died in 2018, according to KATU.
Allen declined to buy the team in 2002 after the WNBA transitioned from NBA ownership to individual franchise ownership, which ultimately led to the dismantling of the Fire franchise.
Portland gained a new WNBA franchise in September 2024, owned by RAJ Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, who also own the Portland Thorns.
The team has already sold thousands of season tickets
The group paid $125 million for the expansion rights, and the Fire and Thorns will share a joint training facility, which is the first of its kind between two women’s teams across leagues.
The Fire has already sold over 11,000 season tickets, surpassing a WNBA record, and will play at the Moda Center.
“We’re pointing everybody to the launch and the pace at which we’re moving, and just giving everyone confidence that we have our arms around it,” Hamill said. “We’re moving fast, and you’re going to hear from us a lot.”
