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Fox News
7 hours ago
- Business
- Fox News
Portland WNBA franchise returns with revived name and will begin play in 2026
Sometimes, moving forward means going back in time, and that's exactly what the WNBA's Portland expansion franchise did this week. The WNBA announced Tuesday that the expansion franchise will be named the Portland Fire, reprising the name from the previous WNBA franchise that played in Portland from 2000 to 2002. "Our feeling is that the Fire never died," interim Fire president Clare Hamill said. "Fans have been waiting for us to come back, and we're back with the Portland Fire." In addition to the name, the team has a new "Rose on Fire" logo and a color palette of red, brown, blue and pink. "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," Hamill said in a statement. "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." Portland was awarded a WNBA team in September. The team is run by Raj Sports, which also owns the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League. The Fire and the Thorns will share a new joint training complex in the first such partnership between the two women's leagues. The Fire have already sold more than 11,000 season tickets for the 2026 season, surpassing the WNBA's previous best. The team will play at the Moda Center, where the original Fire averaged about 8,000 fans a game. The Fire are not the only team the WNBA is introducing to the league next season. The Toronto Tempo will also begin play in 2026. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
CBC
10 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Expansion WNBA team brings back original Portland Fire name
Oregon's WNBA team stepped back in time for its new name, reintroducing the Portland Fire. The expansion franchise, which begins play next season along with the Toronto Tempo, announced its name and branding on Tuesday, reviving the moniker of the city's previous WNBA team that played from 2000 to 2002. "Our feeling is that the fire never died," interim Fire president Clare Hamill said. "Fans have been waiting for us to come back, and we're back with the Portland Fire." In addition to the name, the team has a new "Rose on Fire" logo and a colour palette of red, brown, blue and pink. Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft who died in 2018, was chairman of the original Fire and the two teams played at the Rose Garden, now the Moda Center. The NBA owned the WNBA teams until 2002, then sold them to affiliated NBA teams or independent owners. Allen declined to buy the Fire and the team folded. Portland was awarded a new WNBA team last September. The team is run by Raj Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, who also own the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League. They paid $125 million US for the WNBA franchise. The Fire and Thorns will share a new joint-training facility in the first such partnership between the two women's leagues. The Fire already have sold more than 11,000 season tickets, surpassing the WNBA's previous best. The team will play at the Moda Center, where the original Fire averaged some 8,000 fans a game. Team president left team in June But the launch of the team hasn't been smooth. Indications the team planned to return to the Fire name were previously revealed when a local publication, the Rose Garden Report, published the team's trademark application. The team's president, Inky Son, parted ways with the team late last month after less than three months on the job. Son was announced as the first employee of the team in early April, tasked with leading all aspects of the business, including marketing, ticket and sponsorship sales, and community relations. The Tempo, meanwhile, announced a team name back in December and already have a general manager. Hamill, a former Nike executive, took over for Son until a permanent president can be found. She said the launch of the team name and logo is just a slice of what the team is activating on Tuesday. "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." The team planned to celebrate the name and logo launch with a community party on Tuesday afternoon at the Moda Center. Meet Monica Wright Rogers, the GM of the WNBA's newest team, the Toronto Tempo 5 months ago The newly hired Tempo general manager talks goals for the 2026 WNBA season and how she plans to build a championship-winning team.
National Post
14 hours ago
- Business
- National Post
Expansion WNBA team brings back the original Portland Fire name
Oregon's WNBA team stepped back in time for its new name, re-introducing the Portland Fire. Article content The WNBA expansion franchise, which begins play next next season along with the Toronto Tempo, announced its name and branding on Tuesday — reviving the moniker of the city's previous WNBA team that played from 2000 to 2002. Article content 'Our feeling is that the fire never died,' interim Fire president Clare Hamill said. 'Fans have been waiting for us to come back, and we're back with the Portland Fire.' Article content In addition to the name, the team has a new 'Rose on Fire' logo and a color palette of red, brown, blue and pink. Article content Article content Welcome the Portland Fire Tip-off in 2026. — WNBA (@WNBA) July 15, 2025 Article content Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft who passed away in 2018, was chairman of the original Fire and the two teams played at the Rose Garden, now the Moda Center. Article content The NBA owned the WNBA teams until 2002, then sold them to affiliated NBA teams or independent owners. Allen declined to buy the Fire and the team folded. Article content Portland was awarded a new WNBA team last September. The team is run by Raj Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, who also own the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League. They paid $125 million for the WNBA franchise. Article content The Fire and the Thorns will share a new joint-training facility in the first such partnership between the two women's leagues. Article content The Fire have already sold more than 11,000 season tickets, surpassing the WNBA's previous best. The team will play at the Moda Center, where the original Fire averaged some 8,000 fans a game. Article content But the launch of the team hasn't been smooth. Indications that the team planned to return to the Fire name were previously revealed when a local publication, the Rose Garden Report, published the team's trademark application. Article content The team's president, Inky Son, parted ways with the team late last month after less than three months on the job. Son was announced as the first employee of the team in early April, tasked with leading all aspects of the business, including marketing, ticket and sponsorship sales, and community relations. Article content The Toronto Tempo, meanwhile, announced a team name back in December and have already hired a general manager. Article content Hamill, a former Nike executive, took over for Son until a permanent president can be found. She said the launch of the team name and logo is just a slice of what the team is activating on Tuesday. Article content '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.' Article content
Al Arabiya
16 hours ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Expansion WNBA team brings back the original Portland Fire name
Portland, Ore. – Oregon's WNBA team has stepped back in time for its new name, re-introducing the Portland Fire. The WNBA expansion franchise, which begins play next season along with the Toronto Tempo, announced its name and branding on Tuesday–reviving the moniker of the city's previous WNBA team that played from 2000 to 2002. 'Our feeling is that the fire never died,' interim Fire president Clare Hamill said. 'Fans have been waiting for us to come back and we're back with the Portland Fire.' In addition to the name, the team has a new Rose on Fire logo and a color palette of red, brown, blue, and pink. Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, who passed away in 2018, was chairman of the original Fire, and the two teams played at the Rose Garden, now the Moda Center. The NBA owned the WNBA teams until 2002, then sold them to affiliated NBA teams or independent owners. Allen declined to buy the Fire, and the team folded. Portland was awarded a new WNBA team last September. The team is run by Raj Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, who also own the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League. They paid 125 million for the WNBA franchise. The Fire and the Thorns will share a new joint-training facility in the first such partnership between the two women's leagues. The Fire have already sold more than 11,000 season tickets, surpassing the WNBA's previous best. The team will play at the Moda Center, where the original Fire averaged some 8,000 fans a game. But the launch of the team hasn't been smooth. Indications that the team planned to return to the Fire name were previously revealed when a local publication, the Rose Garden Report, published the team's trademark application. The team's president, Inky Son, parted ways with the team late last month after less than three months on the job. Son was announced as the first employee of the team in early April, tasked with leading all aspects of the business, including marketing, ticket and sponsorship sales, and community relations. The Toronto Tempo, meanwhile, announced a team name back in December and have already hired a general manager. Hamill, a former Nike executive, took over for Son until a permanent president can be found. She said the launch of the team name and logo is just a slice of what the team is activating on Tuesday. '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.' The team planned to celebrate the name and logo launch with a community party on Tuesday afternoon at the Moda Center.
Associated Press
16 hours ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Expansion WNBA team brings back the original Portland Fire name
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon's WNBA team stepped back in time for its new name, re-introducing the Portland Fire. The WNBA expansion franchise, which begins play next next season along with the Toronto Tempo, announced its name and branding on Tuesday — reviving the moniker of the city's previous WNBA team that played from 2000 to 2002. 'Our feeling is that the fire never died,' interim Fire president Clare Hamill said. 'Fans have been waiting for us to come back, and we're back with the Portland Fire.' In addition to the name, the team has a new 'Rose on Fire' logo and a color palette of red, brown, blue and pink. Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft who passed away in 2018, was chairman of the original Fire and the two teams played at the Rose Garden, now the Moda Center. The NBA owned the WNBA teams until 2002, then sold them to affiliated NBA teams or independent owners. Allen declined to buy the Fire and the team folded. Portland was awarded a new WNBA team last September. The team is run by Raj Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, who also own the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League. They paid $125 million for the WNBA franchise. The Fire and the Thorns will share a new joint-training facility in the first such partnership between the two women's leagues. The Fire have already sold more than 11,000 season tickets, surpassing the WNBA's previous best. The team will play at the Moda Center, where the original Fire averaged some 8,000 fans a game. But the launch of the team hasn't been smooth. Indications that the team planned to return to the Fire name were previously revealed when a local publication, the Rose Garden Report, published the team's trademark application. The team's president, Inky Son, parted ways with the team late last month after less than three months on the job. Son was announced as the first employee of the team in early April, tasked with leading all aspects of the business, including marketing, ticket and sponsorship sales, and community relations. The Toronto Tempo, meanwhile, announced a team name back in December and have already hired a general manager. Hamill, a former Nike executive, took over for Son until a permanent president can be found. She said the launch of the team name and logo is just a slice of what the team is activating on Tuesday. '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.' The team planned to celebrate the name and logo launch with a community party on Tuesday afternoon at the Moda Center. ___ AP WNBA:
