Fire Rekindled? WNBA’s Portland Expansion Team Eyes Original Name

The WNBA’s 15th franchise—based in Portland and set to begin play in 2026—looks to be tapping into the league’s roots in the Rose City. 

Documentation on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office showed four trademark applications filed by the WNBA league offices in relation to the Portland Fire. It is the former name of the franchise that played three seasons beginning in 2000 before folding in 2002.  

One of the filings is for apparel, including footwear and headwear. Another was filed under trademark class 41, which includes education, entertainment, and sporting event services. This filing would allow the brand to be distributed in television and radio programs, as well as host clinics and camps. The league office also filed two more trademarks for the letter “P” using those same classifications. 

The WNBA did not immediately respond to Front Office Sports for comment. 

Linda Hargrove, the Fire’s lone head coach for its three seasons, told FOS she’s “surprised” but thrilled by the idea that the WNBA might bring back the franchise’s original name. 

“It was such a great franchise that was supported so well by the community,” Hargrove said. 

Hargrove has an elaborate reel of memories from her time in Portland, but one that stands out above the rest was opening night. On May 31, 2000, the Fire hosted the three-time WNBA champion Houston Comets in front of what Hargrove said was a nearly sold-out crowd.

“Our team was the rejects,” Hargrove said. “They were players who didn’t get protected or had never played in the WNBA before. It was a real blue-collar type of group that worked incredibly hard and got along so well. It was one of the tightest groups of players I’ve ever coached.” 

The game went to double overtime before the Comets—led by Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, and Tina Thompson—secured a 93–89 win. 

The Fire got steadily better over the course of three seasons. They finished 16-16 and were fifth in the Western Conference in 2002. Two weeks after the season ended, Hargrove was back home in Kansas when she got a call that she was fired. A week later, she got another informing her that the franchise would be dismantled. 

“To this day, I have no idea what went into that thinking or why it happened,” Hargrove said.

Expansion has been at the forefront of the WNBA’s business model over the last year and a half. The Golden State Valkyries, beginning play this season, were the first expansion team to join the WNBA since the Atlanta Dream in 2008. 

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has said in previous interviews that the league aims to have 16 teams by 2028. 

Set to debut alongside the Portland franchise is the league’s 14th expansion franchise, the Toronto Tempo. The Portland team, owned by the Bhathal family’s RAJ Sports, which also owns the NWSL’s Portland Thorns and a stake in the Sacramento Kings, is the first to return to a city where one previously existed. However, the significant interest in WNBA ownership means there could be more on the way. 

There are several other trademarks filed by the WNBA league office in relation to disbanded franchises, including for the Miami Sol, the Detroit Shock, and the Charlotte Sting. 

“I was around when the Portland Fire was here,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said ahead of her team’s game against the Phoenix Mercury. “I was part of the Miami Sol that obviously disbanded, too. It’s great that we’re continuing to grow our game with more teams coming back. If they want to choose the Fire name, it’s been there before. So, why not? Why not go back with the brand and continue to build on that?”