Portland Thorns And Portland Fire Will Serve As The Proving Ground For Heritage Preservation And Next-Generation Collecting Experiences Built For Gen Z, Gen A, And Families

Portland, OR – RAJ Sports, the ownership group of the Portland Thorns (NWSL) and Portland Fire (WNBA), today announced a landmark partnership with cllct to build the most ambitious women’s sports collectibles ecosystem in the world. Together, the two franchises will establish best-in-class heritage infrastructure while launching a new era of collecting experiences rooted in storytelling, provenance and community.

“As the global epicenter of women’s sports, Portland has always been where women’s sports does not just exist, it leads,” said RAJ Sports Executive Vice President of Commercial Strategy, John Torris. “We strive to lead through authenticity and culture, maximizing our impact as the only group with teams in the WNBA and NWSL. Together with our forward-thinking ownership group and innovative partners at cllct, our collectibles strategy is rooted in honoring our athletes, preserving history, and unlocking unique access and experiences for our fans.”

At the center of the partnership is a unified vision: make Portland the beacon for how women’s sports can preserve history, celebrate athletes, and activate culture through collecting, while building a repeatable blueprint for women’s teams everywhere. Portland has long been an engine for sport’s most influential ideas – where innovation, identity, and creative expression consistently shape what the rest of the world comes to adopt.

“Women’s sports is building momentum globally, but the collecting ecosystem has not kept pace with the cultural importance of the athletes and the communities behind them,” said Steve Ziff, CEO of cllct. “This partnership is our line in the sand. We are going to build the infrastructure, the storytelling, and the product innovation that turns moments into history, and history into belonging. Most importantly, we are designing this for the next generation, Gen Z and Gen A collectors, and the parents who will help bring them into the fold. If we do this right in Portland, we help change the trajectory of women’s sports collectability everywhere.”

A Dual-Club Model Designed to Set the Standard

The partnership is built to meet each club where it is, while creating a shared operating system for women’s sports collecting:

Portland Thorns (legacy reclamation): building a centralized heritage archive, formalizing provenance, and creating new pathways for fans to connect with iconic moments through authenticated objects and story-driven experiences
Portland Fire (history meets the modern era): unlocking access to team artifacts from the original Fire team that was active from 2000-02, while implementing authenticity-first protocols from day one, capturing “firsts” in real time, and launching 2026 debut season collections and member collections and experiences that establish what a collectible franchise looks like at inception

“This is not about flooding the market with products,” said Darren Rovell, Founder of cllct. “It is about building a credible collecting ecosystem that women’s sports has deserved for a long time. Portland is the perfect place to prove what’s possible when you combine authenticity, storytelling, and a fan base that already treats women’s sports like culture. The Thorns and the Fire can help set the standard for the entire industry, and we are excited to build that blueprint together.”

Building The Future Collector, Not Just The Next Drop
The partnership is designed to grow the collector base for women’s sports by meeting fans where they are, with collecting that is both culturally meaningful and genuinely accessible. Many younger collectors are driven not only by rarity, scarcity, and the thrill of the chase, but by self-expression, identity, and emotion – the feeling of belonging to a team, a player, a moment, and a community. By building an ecosystem that honors both sets of motivations, the Thorns and the Fire can help define what the next generation of women’s sports collecting looks like, and why it matters.

About RAJ Sports
RAJ Sports, led by Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage, focuses on investment opportunities in sports and sports-related properties, drawing on the Bhathal family’s multi-generational experience and relationships in the industry. The firm seeks to leverage the power of sports to affect broader social and economic change through a variety of business and philanthropic strategies. Its deep experience in professional sports operations and large-scale real estate developments that create thriving community centers, positions the firm to deliver valuable assets that will support further growth for the players, staff, and fans. In 2013, the Bhathal family became investors in the Sacramento Kings (NBA); subsequently building the platform to include the Sacramento RiverCats (MiLB), Stockton Kings (NBA G-League) and several sports anchored real estate developments. The 2024 acquisitions of Portland Thorns (NWSL) and the WNBA Portland expansion team represents a milestone for the city of Portland and places it at the epicenter of growth for women’s sports.

About the Portland Thorns
Founded in 2012, the Portland Thorns are a global leader in women’s soccer, defined by unmatched fan support, championship success, and a longstanding commitment to excellence since their inaugural 2013 season. The Thorns have created one of the premier environments in women’s sports at Providence Park, leading the NWSL in average attendance for a league-record ninth time in 2025 and hosting four of the five largest-attended matches during the 2025 season. Portland is the winningest club in NWSL history, capturing a league-record three NWSL Championships (2013, 2017, 2022), two NWSL Shields (2016, 2021), and the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup, while qualifying for the postseason a league-high 11 times. Looking ahead, the club’s investment in the world’s first dual-sport women’s performance center, set to open in 2026, will foster an environment that champions innovation, elevates athlete development, and enhances elite performance.

About the Portland Fire
The Portland Fire is one of the Women’s National Basketball Association’s newest franchises, making its official on court debut in 2026. Owned by RAJ Sports – led by Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage – the team is more than a franchise; it’s the revival of a movement, honoring the legacy of the original Portland Fire while blazing a bold new path forward. Based in Portland, Oregon, the global epicenter of women’s sports, Portland Fire is rooted in the Rose City’s enduring resilience, spirit, and passion for sport.

Looking ahead, RAJ Sports will open the world’s first dual-sport women’s performance center in 2026. The 100,000 square-foot performance center will house both the Fire and the NWSL’s Portland Thorns, and will foster an environment that champions innovation, elevates athlete development, and enhances elite performance.

About cllct
cllct is a culture-first collectibles company that collaborates with the most iconic teams, artists, and brands to create storytelling-driven drops that connect fans to history through tangible and digital artifacts. Founded by sports media veteran Darren Rovell, cllct transforms moments into mementos and nostalgia into next-gen experiences that hit differently. Learn more at cllct.comTop of Form.

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