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Portland Listed as Potential WNBA Expansion City

Could the WNBA return to Portland?

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Jackie Stiles Action Portrait Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images

The WNBA is looking to expand soon, and the league could be looking to return to Portland.

According to The Athletic, the league wants to add two teams by 2024 to create a 14-team league.

Nashville, Oakland, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco and Toronto were all listed as potential expansion spots.

If the WNBA came to Portland, it wouldn’t be the first rodeo in PDX.

From 2000-02, the Portland Fire was the sister franchise of the Blazers, playing in the summer when the NBA was in its offseason.

The Fire struggled in its first two seasons, missing the playoffs with a losing record but in 2002, the team reached the .500 mark. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the team to make the playoffs.

Following the season, the league sold its franchises back to the NBA counterparts, and chairman Paul Allen did not want to take on any more financial losses than he was already experiencing. Therefore, the Fire folded after just three seasons despite its potential to grow.

Now, maybe that potential to grow will be realized two decades later.