Expansion Wnba Team Brings Back The Original Portland Fire Name

PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon's WNBA squad stepped backmost successful clip for its caller name, re-introducing nan Portland Fire.

The WNBA description franchise, which originates play adjacent next play on pinch nan Toronto Tempo, announced its sanction and branding connected Tuesday — reviving nan moniker of nan city's erstwhile WNBA squad that played from 2000 to 2002.

"Our emotion is that nan occurrence ne'er died," interim Fire president Clare Hamill said. "Fans person been waiting for america to travel back, and we're backmost pinch nan Portland Fire."

In summation to nan name, nan squad has a caller "Rose connected Fire" logo and a colour palette of red, brown, bluish and pink.

Portland Trail Blazers proprietor Paul Allen, nan co-founder of Microsoft who passed distant successful 2018, was president of nan original Fire and nan 2 teams played astatine nan Rose Garden, now nan Moda Center.

The NBA owned nan WNBA teams until 2002, past sold them to affiliated NBA teams aliases independent owners. Allen declined to bargain nan Fire and nan squad folded.

Portland was awarded a caller WNBA squad past September. The squad is tally by Raj Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, who besides ain nan Portland Thorns of nan National Women's Soccer League. They paid $125 cardinal for nan WNBA franchise.

The Fire and nan Thorns will stock a caller joint-training installation successful nan first specified business betwixt nan 2 women's leagues.

The Fire person already sold much than 11,000 play tickets, surpassing nan WNBA's erstwhile best. The squad will play astatine nan Moda Center, wherever nan original Fire averaged immoderate 8,000 fans a game.

But nan motorboat of nan squad hasn't been smooth.

Indications that nan squad planned to return to nan Fire sanction were antecedently revealed erstwhile a section publication, nan Rose Garden Report, published nan team's trademark application.

The team's president, Inky Son, parted ways pinch nan squad precocious past period aft little than 3 months connected nan job. Son was announced arsenic nan first worker of nan squad successful early April, tasked pinch starring each aspects of nan business, including marketing, summons and sponsorship sales, and organization relations.

The Toronto Tempo, meanwhile, announced a squad sanction backmost successful December and person already hired a wide manager.

Hamill, a erstwhile Nike executive, took complete for Son until a imperishable president tin beryllium found. She said nan motorboat of nan squad sanction and logo is conscionable a portion of what nan squad is activating connected Tuesday.

"We're pointing everybody to nan motorboat and nan gait astatine which we're moving, and conscionable giving everyone assurance that we person our arms astir it," Hamill said. "We're moving fast, and you're going to perceive from america a lot."

The squad planned to observe nan sanction and logo motorboat pinch a organization statement connected Tuesday day astatine nan Moda Center.