Portland WNBA Franchise Files to Trademark Familiar Nickname From Past

The Rose City's new team may be turning back the clock.

Members of the Portland Fire watch a 2002 game against the Washington Mystics. / Sam Forencich/WNBAE/Getty Images

Meet the new Portland WNBA team—potentially the same as the old Portland WNBA team.

Portland's forthcoming expansion franchise has filed to trademark the Portland Fire nickname and a letter "P" logo, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office via KATU-TV in Portland.

A WNBA team by the Portland Fire name previously played in the Rose City from 2000 to '02. That edition of the Fire went 37-59 over three seasons before folding.

A nickname has not been formally chosen for the squad, which like their fellow expansion team, the Toronto Tempo, are scheduled to begin play in 2026. The team was announced on Sept. 18, and will be owned by the same siblings, Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, that own the NWSL's Portland Thorns.

The Portland team will play at the Moda Center—the home of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, and the home of the Fire during their three-season stay in the WNBA.

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