Jim Etzel
Special to The Oregonian/OregonLive
Etzel is the chief executive officer of Sport Oregon. He lives in Portland.
Last week, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden held a roundtable discussion on women’s sports in Portland. Cathy Engelbert, commissioner of the WNBA, was a featured guest, and the topic of bringing a WNBA expansion team to Portland took center stage during the panel discussion.
For many, it was the first time hearing of this possibility. But in reality, there has been significant momentum building behind the scenes over the last two to three years. Indeed, there is a groundswell of support building by the day, with engaged parties working to bring a pro women’s basketball team to Portland and the state of Oregon.
We here at Sport Oregon stand in firm belief that our city and state are the right choice for a WNBA expansion team. Our community has demonstrated that it is more than ready, and our passion for women’s sports is deeply rooted.
Last November, Portland was selected to host the 2030 NCAA Women’s Final Four — the largest annual women’s sporting event in the country. It’s an affirmation of the unrivaled support that our community gives its teams and events, particularly when it comes to women’s athletics. In fact, Oregon has been leading the way for years.
At the professional level, the Portland Thorns have routinely generated record attendance numbers and won their NWSL-record third championship this past season. Our state also has a history of support for professional women’s basketball, with the Portland Power in the 1990s and Portland Fire in the early 2000s. At the collegiate level, Portland and our state have demonstrated longstanding support of women’s athletics for decades.
In 2019, Portland hosted the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Regional Finals. As a first-time site for the event, Portland fans packed Moda Center to deliver one of the most highly attended West Regionals in the history of the event with over 22,800 fans for the regional semifinals and final.
Most recently, the Hillsboro Hops – our local minor league baseball affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks – made history by announcing Ronnie Gajownik as the team’s manager for the 2023 season. Gajownik becomes the first female manager at the High-A level, yet another groundbreaking achievement that sets Oregon apart as a leader in supporting women at every level of sport.
As Oregonians, we punch above our weight when it comes to sports in our state. But we need to continue to lead, and work to open up more opportunities for women’s athletics. We believe there is no better time to bring the WNBA to Portland than now.
A strong foundation is already in place here in Oregon. In addition to a long history of fan support for women’s athletics in our state, the effort to bring the WNBA to Portland has the endorsement and support throughout the local business community. Additionally, the economic boost for the city, region and state is just what is needed at this time.
As we know, these opportunities don’t come around every day. They are created and nurtured with bold vision and dedicated efforts, and we are seeing that in action. As we saw during last week’s panel discussion at The Sports Bra – the country’s first sports bar dedicated to women’s sports – the efforts to bring a WNBA team to Portland have the endorsement of many leaders, including the state’s professional and collegiate sports teams.
While we are focusing on how Portland can support and assist the WNBA, it’s also important to highlight how valuable a WNBA team would be for the girls and women in our state. Fifty years ago, the passage of Title IX helped grow a world of opportunity for girls and women. But seeing women in all manner of professional sports representing their state helps make those opportunities and dreams all the more realizable.
As a top 25 market in the country, there is room for another professional sports team — or two — in our community. The WNBA has expressed it, too, has room for growth.
So today, we are standing at our front door ready to welcome the WNBA home to Portland.
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