Portland’s WNBA enlargement crew unveiled their Portland Fireplace crew identify on Tuesday, reclaiming the identical identify that the crew used throughout an preliminary WNBA run from 2000-2002.
“As a metropolis that has lengthy championed ladies’s sports activities, Portland is able to reclaim its place within the WNBA and reignite its connection to the sport on the world stage,” stated Clare Hamill, Portland Fireplace Interim President. “We’re thrilled to finish the journey of bringing skilled ladies’s basketball again to the Rose Metropolis, whereas honoring the legacy of the unique franchise to blaze a brand new, daring path ahead.”
The brand contains a Fireplace Purple, Brown, Blue, and Pink palette that evokes the “energy, grit, calm, and creativity that defines the crew.”
The crew celebrated by internet hosting a fan launch social gathering on the Moda Middle.
The Fireplace lately introduced that they’d surpassed over 11,000 season tickets deposits as they set to start play in 2026.
“Portland has lengthy stood on the forefront of girls’s sports activities, and with almost 11,000 season ticket deposits to-date, this neighborhood has made it clear they’re able to embrace the return of girls’s skilled basketball,” stated proprietor Lisa Bhathal Merage. “We’re proud to reignite the Portland Fireplace and may’t wait to welcome new and longtime followers to the Moda Middle in 2026.”
The Fireplace nonetheless have but to rent a common supervisor or coach. Crew president Inky Son left the franchise final month.
The Fireplace will debut alongside the Toronto Tempo subsequent season.
