‘We’re getting closer’: When will Portland’s new WNBA team have a name?

HILLSBORO — Roses? Tridents? Fire?

There have been plenty of suggestions to name the new Portland WNBA team, set to play its first season in 2026. But even with the expansion franchise’s roots planted deeper in the community after breaking ground on its joint practice facility with the Portland Thorns on Tuesday, it seems fans will have to wait a bit longer on a name.

Thorns and WNBA team owner Lisa Bhathal Merage told reporters the team is awaiting final league approval on its name, with the reveal coming in “two, maximum three months,” she said.

“We have been working on the team name,” Bhathal Merage said. “And I’ll tell you, it’s like being able to select a name for your child, but then somebody tells you, ‘No, you can’t have that name. No, you can’t have that name, either.’ Because it’s very difficult to get the IP and the trademark.”

Legal hurdles have kept multiple possible names from crossing the finish line, but that doesn’t mean the team hasn’t still been tossing ideas at the wall to see what sticks. In fact, Bhathal Merage said they have filled a spreadsheet with a long list of name ideas from fans.

“We’ve gone through a lot of different names, and we’ve used the sources that a lot of you have helped out with in crowdsourcing,” Bhathal Merage said. “When you say, ‘What should the next WNBA team name be?’ We have literally compiled every single comment from every single person into a massive spreadsheet and ranked them in order of how popular they were. We worked with the NBA on all of those things.”

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Progress is far from a straight line in the world of sports and branding, and Portland WNBA still has over a year until it tips off for the first time. But the wait for a name is pushing seven months since the franchise was officially awarded.

The team just hired Inky Son as its president, and is in the process of finding a general manager to build its basketball operations and future roster from the ground up. The GM search is expected to finish in the next 3-6 months, Bhathal Merage said. The 2025 WNBA season tips off May 16.

It has been a whirlwind journey from when the Bhathals arrived in Portland, originally with the sole intent of purchasing the Thorns but ending up with controlling interest in two professional sports franchises.

“Buying a WNBA team was not on our radar at the time,” Bhathal Merage said. “But when we were in the process of closing the Thorns, we heard about what was happening and how, with the previous potential (WNBA) owner, it fell through. With our deep-seated relationships in the NBA, we reached out and let them know we were in the process of closing and purchasing the Portland Thorns, what we were doing and looking to build here in Portland.

“They were interested, we threw our hat in the ring, and it all came to fruition. The stars aligned. We definitely doubled down in Portland.”

Stars? Is that it?

Unlikely, given the NHL team in Dallas, and the WNBA’s former San Antonio Stars.

The wait continues.

— Ryan Clarke covers college sports for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at RClarke@Oregonian.com or on Twitter/X: @RyanTClarke. Find him on Bluesky: @ryantclarke.bsky.social.