Saturday Scroll: The Bhathals are turning Portland into a women’s sports hot spot

The Bhathals already co-owned the NBA’s Sacramento Kings when they “started hearing about the rise of women’s sports,” Bhathal Merage said. When the opportunity arose to purchase the Thorns, she went to a game at Providence Park to witness the “magic” firsthand. Convinced of the potential, “the stars aligned” for the Bhathals to land the NWSL team months later.

Things fell into place once again after another ownership group’s bid for a WNBA team in Portland fell through and the Bhathals scooped up their second women’s sports franchise. This dual ownership is an anomaly in both leagues and something Bhathal Merage doesn’t anticipate others accomplishing, given how recent ownership bids are shaking out.

It was the opportunity of a lifetime, and they were in the right place at the right time, with the right experience. The Bhathals’ previous sports ownership reportedly influenced their successful WNBA bid, and Bhathal Merage cites the city’s reputation as “the global epicenter of women’s sports” dating back to the 1970s as another selling point.

• Portland “punches way above its weight” in terms of its women’s sports fandom, she said, with the city and surrounding area home to about 2M residents and “the most highly engaged women’s sports community in the world.” Let’s dive into how the Bhathals and brands are serving fans an incomparable product.

The most successful WNBA and NWSL teams benefit from deeply invested ownership, something the NWSL definitely considers when granting an expansion franchise. The Bhathals are all in, and because of their unique ownership structure and avid fanbase, they can do things no one else can.

Take their massive, one-of-a-kind performance center, opening later this year. There will be two full-size basketball courts, two full-size soccer pitches, and dedicated locker rooms and recovery areas, in addition to shared strength training and dining facilities. “We did that on purpose so that the athletes could collaborate and communicate,” Bhathal Merage said.

• She also explained the value of being the only woman in the room during these planning conversations to develop this unique space. “Just because we've done it a certain way for men does not mean we have to do it that same way for women,” she said.

Bhathal Merage has encountered such obstacles before. In college, she was torn between a career in sports and fashion, but ultimately chose fashion because “back then, [sports were] definitely a man’s world.” Now that she’s firmly in the sports universe, she touts the value of diverse perspectives and considers her “purpose” to advocate for the next generation of women leaders and athletes.

Her rich career background is an asset in the boardroom. Raj Sports has “some exciting things coming out” in terms of beauty and fashion deals, and Bhathal Merage credits the multidimensionality of women athletes and fans as well as the freedom to be creative in women’s sports partnerships. Clear the runway.

The right perspective and the right product are positioning these Portland teams to sell like nothing else on the market. Raj Sports is creative and dynamic in its partnerships, with the group “customizing programs for every single one of our partners.”

• The biggest difference between this approach and that of a traditional men’s sports team? "Creating packages with our partners that have to do with community activations,” Bhathal Merage said.

It’s a winning strategy. Since the family acquired the Thorns, partnerships have increased 700%, according to Bhathal Merage. About 30% of the group’s sponsors have inked deals with both teams.

• The Thorns rank in the top three in the NWSL across three major sponsorship categories: airlines, hotels, and credit unions. The W team, which will take the court for the first time this season, also ranks highly in automotive and quick service restaurant deals.

• An impressive 40% of the group’s partnerships are new to sports or women’s sports, making it a welcome place for Portland trailblazers.

The city itself is another key to the Bhathals’ strategy. There’s a unique ability to sell across two women’s sports teams and reach overlapping but separate fan bases, which also happen to be some of the most highly engaged fandoms in the world, according to Bhathal Merage.

• Example A? Despite the WNBA’s CBA uncertainty, which ended Wednesday, Bhathal Merage said that the Fire has been leading the league in new ticket sales.

The teams are leaning into the PDX community with nods like the Fire’s viral Portlandia-themed schedule drop — yet another creative idea that “people are going crazy over” in the Portland community. “We're not limiting ourselves with what has been done in women's sports,” Bhathal Merage added. “We just want everything to be on steroids.”

• At around 2M, the Portland metro area may not be a huge market, but it’s powerful enough to support two women’s teams, engage brand sponsors across both leagues, and attract new companies to the world of women’s sports.

Bhathal Merage has lofty goals, including becoming the first billion-dollar NWSL team. But with the right teams in place at every level — ownership, athletes and coaches, fans, and sponsors — that’s a goal entirely within reach.