The Athletic’s writers singled out the Thorns’ electrifying game days and the influence of the 3-year-old Sports Bra.
PORTLAND, Ore. — This story comes from the Portland Business Journal, a KGW News partner. The full story is here.
Portland has a storied soccer team, a new basketball team, a trendsetting sports bar and a lot of vibes. And that was enough to make it one of the top U.S. cities for women’s sports, according to The Athletic.
“While voting, our staffers were clearly working through just how to define the ‘vibes’ of what makes a women’s sports city so special, but one of the main themes was community,” according to The Athletic. “Portland was the city to which most voters pointed to illustrate this idea.”
The sports news site last week ranked its top 10 women’s sports cities in the country and put Portland fourth, just below Pacific Northwest rival Seattle. The San Francisco Bay Area was No. 1, followed by Minnesota’s Twin Cities at No. 2.
The Athletic’s writers singled out the Thorns’ electrifying game days and the influence of the 3-year-old Sports Bra, a bar dedicated to women’s sports, now replicated through franchise locations nationwide.
The ranking plays into a push to enshrine Portland as the “epicenter” of women’s sports. Led by the owners of the Thorns and the incoming WNBA’s Portland Fire, teams and fans are working to place the Rose City at the crest of a wave of growing popularity for women’s sports.
The Fire’s upcoming inaugural season next year will only further elevate the city’s profile, according to The Athletic.
“Will Portland get revenge on Seattle next year once the Fire start to play in the WNBA in 2026? We’ll find out in next year’s ranking.”