Latest news with #PortlandFire
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Future Power Rankings: Best WNBA Teams in 5 Years [FULL EPISODE]
Ben and Sabreena dig into the details behind another big reporting project: Future Power Rankings in the WNBA. How might WNBA teams stack up against each other in five years? Which franchises are poised to be the most successful? Ben and Sabreena share the methodology behind it all – from weighting players and coaches to draft picks and facilities – and give a window into the W's future. Plus, thoughts on the Portland Fire announcement and some truly strange league rules around players wearing hats on the sidelines.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
WNBA Portland expansion team name announced
The post WNBA Portland expansion team name announced appeared first on ClutchPoints. As the WNBA continues to grow, one of its upcoming expansion teams just received its new name. After previously selecting Portland as its next city, the league confirmed the new team would be called the Portland Fire. Portland previously had a WNBA team, also named the Fire, from 2000 to 2002. The league confirmed the revival of the Portland Fire with a one-minute hype video on social media. Like most of the defunct WNBA organizations, the Fire were discontinued due to a lack of general interest. However, over two decades later, the league believes the team will receive substantially more support due to the growing success of women's basketball. The Fire will return in 2026, along with another WNBA expansion team, the Toronto Tempo. Their simultaneous arrivals will grow the league to 15 teams. However, the league will not stop there, as three more teams will arrive in the following seasons. League commissioner Cathy Engelbert confirmed a team in Cleveland will debut in 2028, followed by one in Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030. The immediate success of the Golden State Valkyries in 2025 is a significant factor in the league's rapid expansion. The Valkyries were welcomed by the San Francisco community with open arms, selling out the 18,000-seat Chase Center in each of their first four home games. Golden State also sold 10,000 season tickets in its inaugural season, becoming the first WNBA expansion team to achieve this milestone. Fire's brief history in WNBA The Fire were initially announced as a 2000 expansion team and played their games at the Moda Center, then known as the Rose Garden. While they shared the same home as the Portland Trail Blazers, which was also a new organization at the time, they barely generated any fan traction. As such, they lasted just three seasons before getting shut down. Former Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen, better known as the co-founder of Microsoft, owned the first iteration of the Fire. They improved their record each season, but could never achieve a better than 16-16 record and missed the playoffs each year. Although it is unreasonable to expect an expansion team to succeed immediately, Allen bailed on the team due to its negative financial impact. The 2026 Fire team will be owned by Raj Sports, the same group that owns the Portland Thorns of the NWSL. While the Allen family still owns the Trail Blazers, Jody Allen — Paul's younger sister — is not financially invested in the second attempt at bringing the WNBA to Oregon. Related: Caitlin Clark ranked behind teammate in ESPN WNBA rankings Related: 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend preview
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sky players voice solidarity as WNBA and union brace for a potential work stoppage in November
CHICAGO — The WNBA is on the clock. The players union set a tone of urgency Tuesday by posting a simple graphic on its social media pages — a clock counting down to a potential work stoppage on Nov. 1. For months the Women's National Basketball Players Association had publicly signaled that it saw a work stoppage as only a last resort while negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the league. But that changed last month. The union made an initial offer in February, and the league's counterproposal in June forced players across the WNBA — including on the Chicago Sky — to prepare for the possibility of a stoppage. 'There's so much at stake right now,' Sky forward Michaela Onyenwere said. 'We need to put pressure on the league. If that means sitting out, we're ready for it. It's empowering in the way that we have a voice to make a change in our league.' The current CBA is set to expire Oct. 31. If the league and players don't reach an agreement by then, a work stoppage could begin. While that wouldn't have an immediate effect on games — the latest the WNBA Finals would end is Oct. 19 — a stoppage would freeze teams' ability to execute signings, trades and the expansion draft, with the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo scheduled to join the league in 2026. And if it continued into April, when teams report for preseason training, it could delay the start of the next season. League and union officials planned to sit down Thursday for another round of in-person negotiations in Indianapolis, where the entire WNBA will be converging for All-Star weekend. Players anticipate the content — and tone — of that meeting will set expectations for the likelihood of a work stoppage. 'Hopefully these conversations get a little better,' Sky guard Rachel Banham said. 'Hopefully there's a little bit more of a sense of urgency on their behalf. I hope everyone gets to the right place. I think we all want the same thing at the end of the day. We've just got to find a way to get there.' The WNBPA's tone has shifted over the last four months, mostly as a result of last month's negotiations with the league. Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally described the league's counterproposal as a 'slap in the face,' while New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart said the league 'ignored everything we said.' Banham echoed the sentiment that the league refused to listen to players' demands. The steep divide comes down, not surprisingly, to one area: compensation. Players are fighting for a variety of increased investment in the new CBA, including standards for practice facilities and charter flights, increased roster sizes and improved retirement benefits. But the bulk of the negotiations are focused on the money. The minimum rookie salary for 2025 is $66,079, with a veteran minimum of $78,831. WNBA salaries are capped at $249,244 annually for a supermax deal, while the salary cap for a team's entire roster is roughly $1.5 million. The union hasn't hinted at its preferred numbers for minimums and maximums, but players ardently agree they wish to see salaries reflect the league's increased revenue over the last five years. This reflects a broader sentiment across the union. Players are excited about the state of the WNBA. The addition of five expansion teams by 2030 will bring in a total of $1.25 billion in expansion fees. The new media-rights deal is worth a reported $200 million per year from 2026 to 2036. Teams are packing major arenas. Business is soaring — yet player compensation remains static. 'If you compare that to the numbers that we're getting paid, it just doesn't make sense financially for us to be growing in this area but not growing in another,' Onyenwere said. For rookies such as Sky forward Maddy Westbeld, this season has been an education in organization. Westbeld said she felt 'naive' about the realities of union organizing when she first joined the league. But after regular consultations with veterans such as Banham and Elizabeth Williams, she's beginning to see her place in the union. Although veterans shoulder the burden of most union organizing, younger players such as Westbeld and second-year Sky forward Angel Reese have been encouraged to participate in collective action in upcoming months. 'Education is power,' Westbeld said. 'This period is about making sure we're all united. If I have a role to play, I'm going to speak up. Even though I'm a rookie, my voice needs to be heard. We can't be afraid.' The next step will occur with Thursday's meeting in Indianapolis. 'It can be kind of scary because it is our jobs, it's our livelihood and we want to play,' Banham said. 'But it's also exciting because we're standing up for ourselves. We're really trying to fight for what we know we deserve and we haven't gotten for many, many years. 'I think we're at the place now where we really, truly deserve this money. We're doing it for the people who fought for it in the past. We're not going to back down.'
Fox News
15-07-2025
- 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.
Forbes
15-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
WNBA Expansion Team Brings Back Nostalgic Name, Portland Fire
FILE - From left, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage appear at ... More an event to award Portland a WNBA franchise on Sept. 18, 2024, at the Moda Center in Portland. (AP Photo/Anne M. Peterson, File) On Tuesday, July 15, just days before the exciting start to All-Star weekend taking place in Indianapolis, home of WNBA phenomenon Caitlin Clark, WNBA expansion franchise Portland dropped their name and logo: Portland Fire. The name and logo was a nostalgic touch, giving the brand an uplift from when the city had a team from 2000 to 2003. The team is leaning into the nickname of the city, the Rose City but also on the long-standing history of being passionate and fiery women's sports fans. Additionally, the name has a direct tie to the Portland Thorns, the NWSL team that is owned by RAJ Sports, the same investment group that now owns the Portland Fire as well. The two teams have been purposely intertwined from the beginning. When Portland was announced as one of the next WNBA expansion cities, plans were revealed for joint training facilities between the Thorns and now Fire. It seems compared to other expansion teams that have received flack and disapproval for their name and logo from fans (i.e., Toronto Tempo and now Boston Legacy), Portland tied themselves to the history of the city as well as their roots in the WNBA from decades prior. Claire Hamill, Portland Fire Interim President said, "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. 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 seems to be headed in the right direction blazing their way forward. Similar to the trajectory of the Golden State Valkyries, the Fire have already surpassed 10,000 season ticket deposits demonstrating the rich interest and excitement in Portland for women's professional basketball. Follow me for more women's sports content and news on X, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
