Expansion Portland franchise breaks ground on training facility

Field Level Media|published: Tue 22nd April, 19:02 2025

May 25, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Wilson official basketball with WNBA logo goes through the net during the game between the LA Sparks and the Las Vegas Aces at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

While it remains without a team name, the expansion Portland WNBA franchise broke ground Tuesday on a new training facility just west of the city.

Hillsboro will be home to the $150 million project, which will serve both the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League and the to-be-named WNBA team that will join the league in 2026.

"I think this performance center will be changing the dynamic for women's sports for generations to come," said Lisa Bhathal Merage, whose family owns the WNBA franchise as well as the Thorns and has a stake in the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

"It's the first dual-purpose professional women's sport performance center in the world, and we may not see any others after this," Bhathal Merage said. "Our view is to collaborate, involve the community and really lift up everybody by that collaboration."

As for the team name, Bhathal Merage said that "we are getting closer. We're waiting for final league approval and, hopefully within the next two, maximum three months, we'll be able to unveil everything."

--Field Level Media

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