WNBA shelves plan to expand to Portland

The WNBA has "shelved plans to bring an expansion team to Portland" after discussions with local entrepreneur Kirk Brown "broke down at the 11th hour." While it was "not immediately clear what torpedoed the plans," multiple sources indicated that "uncertainty about a practice facility for the team was among the chief concerns." It is "no longer clear whether Brown remains involved in any efforts to get the discussions back on track" or "if that is even a possibility." The WNBA expansion fee would have been $50M, sources said, bringing it in line with the fee the new Bay Area expansion team paid. Portland was "widely seen as the favorite" to be the WNBA's next expansion city and, in fact, sources said that "the decision to expand to Portland had been made pending final details" (Portland OREGONIAN, 11/1).