WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has accepted an invitation from Sen. Ron Wyden to participate in a panel discussion on the WNBA and women’s sports to be held Monday in Portland.

The event will be hosted by Jenny Nguyen, owner of The Sports Bra, a sports bar in Northeast Portland that focuses on women’s sports.

“I’m thrilled that Commissioner Engelbert is coming to Portland so she can see and hear how our entire state has proven to be an epicenter for women’s sports,” Wyden said in a press release. “Look at the off-the-charts attendance numbers that the Thorns draw for soccer in Portland, or the huge crowds that women’s college basketball draws throughout Oregon, and there’s no doubt a WNBA team would be a slam-dunk success in the Moda Center.”

Also participating will be OSU women’s basketball coach Scott Rueck, UO women’s basketball coach Kelly Graves, Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin and Karina LeBlanc, general manager and president of the Portland Thorns, among others.

The WNBA has 12 franchises and is looking to expand. The league said in September that it had narrowed its focus to about 10 cities and hoped to announce two expansion cities by the end of 2022. That didn’t materialize. Engelbert has said in the past that the WNBA’s goal was to add two expansion teams by the 2025 season.

Last fall, in response to Wyden’s invitation, Engelbert said that Portland was on her radar for expansion.

“Portland is a market that we hold in high regard and are actively considering,” she said.

Portland was once home to the Fire, a WNBA team that operated for three seasons (2000-02).

“I’m confident that Ducks fans throughout Oregon would support the WNBA with the same high level of commitment and enthusiasm they consistently provide our team here in Eugene,” Graves said. ”The most passionate fan base for women’s basketball is in our state. Add in the city of Portland’s passion for the Thorns and women’s athletics, and it’s a layup that a WNBA franchise would flourish in the state of Oregon.”

—The Oregonian