Portland’s new WNBA team may revive the “Fire” name, igniting conversations about legacy, identity, and the evolution of a city.
There are names that live quietly in the past, and others that return like a spark. In Portland, that spark may soon become a flame. As the city prepares to welcome its new WNBA franchise next summer, signs point to a familiar name from a not-so-distant past: the Portland Fire.
The trademark filings are there, etched into public record. The logo, perhaps a stylized “P,” waiting to be stitched on jerseys, hats, and banners. For those who remember the original Fire, which flared briefly from 2000 to 2002, the return is a kind of revival. A second chance. A promise not forgotten.
But fire is a complicated symbol—of passion, of destruction, of rebirth. And for some, its return raises more questions than answers.
The WNBA filed trademarks for the name “Portland Fire” earlier this week, per @TheAthletic.
Portland, which was granted an expansion franchise to begin play next season, had a WNBA team known as the Fire from 2000-02 pic.twitter.com/2Eu9tRmAfk
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 20, 2025
The City Has Changed
Portland in 2002 is not Portland in 2025. A city shaped by protest and progress, gentrification and growth, Portland has evolved. The rise of women’s sports has taken deep root here—through the Thorns, one of the most celebrated clubs in NWSL history, and the passionate, pioneering fans who filled stadiums before it was a trend.
It’s a city that gave the country its first women’s sports bar and continues to build spaces for women’s athletics to thrive. In that context, a new WNBA franchise feels like destiny fulfilled.
But with evolution comes the responsibility of reflection. What story does the name “Fire” tell today? For many in Oregon, fire has come to mean something else entirely—destruction, displacement, fear. In a state scorched by wildfires year after year, some wonder if the name stokes the wrong imagery for a team meant to inspire.
Got these really cool and apparently never used Portland Fire uniform patches on eBay that just came in today and I love them🥹
Wanted to start collecting some Portland Fire historical stuff ahead of the Portland WNBA team name announcement in less than 2 months🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZpmK16SqMm
— Portland Fire…?🥀🔥 (@portlandwnba) May 15, 2025
Echoes of the Past, Visions for the Future
It’s hard not to see both sides. There is power in legacy. There is meaning in bringing back something lost. Names can be bridges, reminders of where we’ve been. And yet, as columnist Bill Oram wrote, naming Portland’s WNBA team the “Fire” feels tone-deaf in a post-wildfire Oregon.
Owner Lisa Bhathal Merage acknowledged how complicated naming a team can be. It’s not just about branding—it’s about belonging. Trademark limitations narrow the field. Cultural resonance narrows it further. It’s like naming a child, she said, but with thousands of opinions and only so many options left.
Still, it’s worth asking: should a new team inherit a name from a different time? Or should it rise with a new identity—one that reflects today’s Portland, not the one that last saw the Fire burn out as Nickelback topped the charts?
The WNBA has filed three new trademark applications related to the Portland Fire. It would appear that the expansion team will be returning to the name the Portland WNBA franchise used from 2000 to 2002. pic.twitter.com/zeU8miW0PM
— Sean Highkin (@highkin) June 19, 2025
What Burns Brightest
This much is clear: Portland is ready. The fans are waiting. And whatever name ends up stitched across those inaugural jerseys, it will be worn with pride. But names matter. Symbols matter. And if a team is to carry the heart of a city, it should feel like it belongs to the present moment.
Perhaps the Fire will roar once more. Or perhaps another name, forged from the spirit of today’s Portland, will take its place.
Either way, a story is beginning—one worth watching, and worth getting right.
