The prospective Portland WNBA club and the Portland Thorns have a new home.
By early 2026, a first-of-its-kind shared practice facility that will benefit the NWSL and WNBA teams, owners, and operators is anticipated to open. On Thursday, RAJ Sports made the announcement. Repurposing an office complex that Nike had previously inhabited, the first phase of the 12-acre Hillsboro site is expected to cost approximately $75 million to construct.
The WNBA-specific parts of the building should be finished before the unnamed team kicks off its debut season in the summer of 2026, while the soccer and shared areas of the complex should be finished in time for the Thorns to use the space before the 2026 season.
RAJ Sports intends to invest over $150 million in the multi-phase project, starting with a training facility that is 63,000 square feet and specifically tailored for female athletes. In January 2024, the Thorns were acquired by the ownership group headed by Lisa Bhathal Merage for an estimated $63 million. Additionally, the WNBA was paid $125 million for an additional team that was announced in September.
Our family pledged to invest in the Portland Thorns, the WNBA team, and the Portland metro area when we purchased the Thorns and the WNBA franchise. The governor of both teams, Bhathal Merage, stated in a press statement. The construction of a cutting-edge training center that offers our athletes the greatest environment possible in both professional basketball and soccer will revolutionize women’s sports. As we work to become a premier organization on the field, court, and in the community, we want to make the most welcoming and inclusive environment possible for our athletes, employees, supporters, fans, partners, and community.
A 17,000-square-foot basketball gym with two full-sized courts, two soccer fields and an outdoor training area, a strong strength training facility, an outdoor turf zone, and a yoga/pilates room, sports science and sports medicine areas, separate dressing rooms for each team in a spa-like setting with amenities specifically for female athletes, a shared dining room with a full-time chef and nutritionist, a family room, team meeting rooms, and social media content creation rooms are all features of the Thorns and WNBA team’s facility.
The proposed soccer fields at the future training complex of the Portland Thorns and Portland’s WNBA club are depicted in an artist’s rendering. It is anticipated that the facility will open in 2026.Thanks to RAJ Sports
According to team management, Thorns players met with Bhathal Merage and completed surveys offering their opinions on the layout and features of the facility.
Our club is in an exciting phase, and as players, we are overjoyed to have a dedicated women’s performance center for the first time. Sophia Wilson (previously Smith), a forward with the Thorns, stated in the press release. We may improve all aspects of our game and develop into more complete players with the help of this type of high-performance training facilities. Having a dedicated area for female athletes provides us a competitive advantage and will be essential to our future achievements.
I ll probably shed a tear
Bhathal Merage’s focus on this project, which never got off the ground under the Thorns’ previous ownership, was evident from the moment she and her family took over the franchise last year, according to former Thorns general manager Karina LeBlanc, who is currently the vice president of strategic growth development for RAJ Sports.
LeBlanc added that include the WNBA team and building a unique dual facility was a welcome addition that would benefit both professional teams.
When we first started this, Lisa said, “How do we make this about women?” According to The Oregonian/OregonLive, LeBlanc said. Everything must be purposeful and focused on women. RAJ Sports’ family group has a clear goal for what they want to accomplish, and this type of high-performance training center is meant to improve every aspect of the game. off the field as well as on it. And give everyone a sense of inclusion.
LeBlanc envisions a sight akin to the one she witnessed when playing goalie for the Canadian women’s soccer team during her second Olympics. Ready to join her teammates for lunch, she entered the Olympic village dining hall and noticed Venus and Serena Williams seated at a different table. At that stage in LeBlanc’s career and life, she said, the chance to talk to the Williams sisters and make connections with other elite athletes was quite valuable.
Plans for basketball courts within the future training complex of the Portland Thorns and Portland’s WNBA club are depicted in an artist’s rendering. It is anticipated that the facility will open in 2026.Thanks to RAJ Sports
According to LeBlanc, the Thorns and WNBA players ought to have the same kind of opportunities in their facility every day.
“I was surrounded by like-minded women who wanted to do great things, something bigger than ourselves, when I was a player years ago,” LeBlanc said. The athletes will experience a sense of purpose and belonging as you enter that area. The business office also has employees there. You’ll see what’s possible when you walk through there.
In the upcoming years, the facility will hold children’s sports camps and a variety of other community events in addition to serving as a training ground for Thorns young academy players, LeBlanc noted. In its press announcement, RAJ Sports stated that it hoped to establish a female athlete-focused innovation hub for peak performance and recovery on campus.
According to a 2021 research, women made up only 34% of all participants in studies published in prestigious sports science and medicine publications, and only 6% of those studies were solely about female athletes. RAJ Sports is motivated to build the innovation center in part by those figures.
LeBlanc stated that she couldn’t have predicted this time during her professional athletic career, and the training facility itself is only the beginning. But as the WNBA and NWSL grow at an unprecedented rate and Portland aims to be at the forefront, this has become the norm.
“I’ll probably cry the moment I enter the building,” LeBlanc remarked. The course of women’s soccer in this nation was altered by the Portland Thorns. By the conclusion of this past summer, the WNBA franchise had more than 8,000 season-ticket deposits before we even had a name.
It’s personal here in the city. We’re going to do something revolutionary.
–For The Oregonian/OregonLive, Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon Ducks and the Big Ten Conference. Get the Ducks Roundup email or listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast.
Latest Thorns news
-
Portland Thorns announce 2025 regular-season schedule
-
Thorns name Hall of Famer Jeff Agoos new president, general manager
-
Denver group lands NWSL team for record expansion fee, Sportico reports
