{"id":373195,"date":"2025-11-12T05:19:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T05:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/373195\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T05:19:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T05:19:21","slug":"thorns-fandom-lucky-charms-and-family-values-suite-level-with-the-bhathals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/373195\/","title":{"rendered":"Thorns fandom, lucky charms and family values: Suite Level with the Bhathals"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Portland Thorns owner Alex Bhathal isn\u2019t spotted on game day striding around Providence Park in his signature red Moncler polo, black slacks, and custom black-and-red Jordans, start worrying. Not because he would ever miss a home match, but because if he shows up in anything else, his sister and business partner Lisa Bhathal Merage will send him straight home to change.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeven wins, four draws, no losses,\u201d he told The Athletic before the team\u2019s 1-0 NWSL quarterfinal win over the San Diego Wave. \u201cThey joke in the front office, \u2018Is Alex wearing his red shirt?’\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat keeps me up at night is whether he\u2019ll show up wearing it,\u201d Bhathal Merage laughs. \u201cHere\u2019s hoping Montclair never discontinues those polos. And frankly, Alex, you should have a sponsorship from Moncler.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She has her own game-day gear. \u201cI have a bracelet that has thorns on it on one side and smooth on the other side,\u201d she says. \u201cOn game days, I always put on my thorny side for good luck.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Sunday, the Bhathals\u2019 lucky charms were on full display. They edged past the Wave at home to clinch a semifinal spot against the Washington Spirit on Saturday, a well-earned reward after a whirlwind of a season. It was a moment worth celebrating.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Lisa Bhathal Merage wears her lucky Thorns bracelet to most home games. (Lisa Bhathal Merage)<\/p>\n

Lisa Bhathal Merage and her brother Alex, through their RAJ Sports investment vehicle, entered the Portland sports scene in late 2023 with the $63 million purchase of the NWSL\u2019s Thorns from Merritt Paulson<\/a>. The decision to sell from Paulson came just two months after the club dismissed two top executives implicated in the league\u2019s systemic abuse<\/a> scandal that involved the club\u2019s former head coach, Paul Riley.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Initially, the siblings cast a wide net, exploring investments in Major League Soccer, expansion franchises and beyond. But one visit to Providence Park sealed their decision. What started as due diligence quickly turned into conviction.<\/p>\n

It was Bhathal Merage who first experienced the passion of the Rose City Riveters. She took her husband and son to a Thorns match in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was magic,\u201d she recalled. \u201cYou can\u2019t manufacture that atmosphere. The passion in Providence Park is authentic. You feel it in your bones.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Providence Park and the Portland Thorns\u2019 fans instantly drew the Bhathals to the team. (Amanda Loman \/ NWSL via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

At the time of the sale, the club was in a delicate state. Players were unhappy, and fans were protesting week after week. But the Bhathals saw what Paulson had built: the most successful team in NWSL history, a perennial contender, and a fan base that fills a stadium week after week. \u201cYou can\u2019t buy fandom,\u201d Bhathal Merage said. \u201cYou can build a new team from scratch, but you can\u2019t build this.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year is their record ninth straight playoff appearance, but getting here feels miraculous.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Portland entered 2025 with a roster overhaul unlike any in club history, including the retirements of Christine Sinclair and Becky Sauerbrunn, who left a leadership and experience void. Star forward Sophia Wilson (formerly Smith) missed the year on maternity leave<\/a>, while Morgan Weaver, Marie Muller, and Nicole Payne were sidelined before kickoff with long-term injuries. Midseason blows followed, as rookie Caiya Hanks and newcomer Julie Dufour suffered anterior cruciate ligament tears, only deepening the challenge. Still, coach Rob Gale rebuilt around a younger core, with Olivia Moultrie, Deyna Castellanos, Jessie Fleming, and captain Sam Coffey keeping Portland\u2019s championship hopes alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bhathals knew it would not be easy, but they have taken an intent attitude towards being owners.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing we\u2019ve learned from our parents\u2019 involvement in sports is we don\u2019t view ourselves as owners,\u201d Bhathal Merage said. \u201cWe think of ourselves as stewards of a beloved community asset.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Portland, where the Thorns are as much an institution as a sports club, stewardship comes with high expectations and responsibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mindset from the top down with how we create the culture in the organization. As an organization, we value innovative, forward-thinking. We like winning. We strive for excellence,\u201d she said. \u201cOne thing our parents always taught us is to check your ego at the door. It\u2019s not about you, it\u2019s about everything else.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their love of sports started early, long before balance sheets and boardrooms. Their mother, Martha Bhathal, was a multi-sport athlete who played golf at UCLA, and their childhood was filled with packed stadiums: the Los Angeles Rams, Lakers, and Angels. Those moments set the tone for a family culture built on competition, loyalty, and showing up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their father, Raj Bhathal, helped build a diversified portfolio across real estate, private equity, and sports. He had already been involved in NBA ownership for more than a decade, serving as the largest minority owner in the Sacramento Kings\u2019 group and as Vivek Ranadive\u2019s alternate governor, the majority owner. The siblings grew up watching him take the long view.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe learned there are no shortcuts,\u201d Alex Bhathal said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand the long-term nature of being involved in the sports world and taking a long-term approach to establishing a foundation that can be built upon over time. You build great enterprises brick by brick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Sports ownership is a family business from Thorns owner Alex Bhathal, who invested in the Portland team with his sister Lisa Bhathal Merage (Naji Saker \/ Portland Thorns)<\/p>\n

Doubling down on their bet in Portland, in 2024, they also bought the WNBA franchise<\/a>, Portland Fire, for $125 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite living in California, Lisa and Alex are in Portland for nearly every home match. They arrive early \u2014 an hour before kickoff \u2014 to watch the warm-ups, greet players, and engage with their staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen\u2019s sports take more work,\u201d Bhathal Merage says. \u201cYou can\u2019t phone it in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their suite isn\u2019t a corporate space; it\u2019s a family one. \u201cOur families are there, but so is our staff, our GM, our president. They are an extension of our family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biggest project they have taken on since taking over the Thorns is the state-of-the-art dual-sport performance center<\/a>, set to open next season, which has expanded beyond its original 63,000 square feet and will be the only dual-sport professional women\u2019s facility in the world. Each team will have its own entrance, with two full-size soccer pitches and two basketball courts for the WNBA side.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The teams will share two key areas: an elite training core, with separate gym and recovery spaces, and a shared dining hall designed to foster connection, culture, and community across both teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A major focus of the center is advancing women\u2019s health, with an emphasis on injury prevention and contributing to much-needed research in female athlete care. The center is designed through a female lens, featuring recovery rooms, a mother\u2019s space, a beauty studio, a nutrition lab and details like tiles and finishes chosen by the players. That last part is crucial. Wilson suggested a mother\u2019s chair for the family area, similar to one she has in her home.<\/p>\n

The project will cost more than $150 million and is financed privately by the Bhathals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n The Bhathal family is building a joint training facility for its WNBA and NWSL teams (RAJ Sports)<\/p>\n

Sports teams are costly operations, but the returns have been swift. Since taking over, they\u2019ve seen sponsorship revenue surge by 300 percent. Partnering with Legends Global, the leading venue management and entertainment company, has strengthened everything from hospitality to partnership strategy. Earlier this year, they secured a multiyear deal with home security company Ring as their front-of-jersey sponsor, the most lucrative jersey partnership in league history, according to the team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not all smooth sailing, though. Beyond the Thorns\u2019 playoff push and hopes of adding new hardware lies an intriguing offseason ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After last year\u2019s roster overhaul, the club has locked in Moultrie through 2029<\/a>. The big question now is whether star forwards Wilson, still on maternity leave, and Weaver, recovering from knee surgery, will return next season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For now, the vibe around the Thorns is clear: cautious optimism and plenty of belief that their best days are still to come.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ve done a lot of work trying to develop better processes in terms of recruitment and philosophy and principles,\u201d said Jeff Agoos, who joined the team in January as the president and general manager of soccer operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn sports, you look at week to week, whether we win on Saturday, but we\u2019re also looking at what the next 10 years look like. Our goal as an organization is to be a mid-market unicorn with a billion-dollar valuation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alex Bhathal, the alternate governor, is convinced that growth is ahead, both for the Thorns and the league. \u201cBut we\u2019re in early innings,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can spend a lot of money in sports, and you can waste a lot of money in sports,\u201d Bhathal said, \u201cbut you can also be very targeted when you make significant investments that will then reap long-term rewards for the success of the franchise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If Portland Thorns owner Alex Bhathal isn\u2019t spotted on game day striding around Providence Park in his signature…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":373196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[5468,60092,62,222,67,132,68,232,53703],"class_list":{"0":"post-373195","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-nwsl","9":"tag-portland-thorns","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-sports-business","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-wnba","16":"tag-womens-soccer"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115535044831760640","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}