Portland Fire Set WNBA Attendance Record in Inaugural Game, How Many Fans Attended Season Opener?

The Portland Fire opened the 2026 WNBA season with the most well-attended inaugural game in league history.

Saturday's season-opening matchup against the Chicago Sky resulted in a 19,335-person sellout at Moda Center.

That marked a record for any WNBA team's first game in the league, per The Oregonian's Ryan Clarke.

The event also marked the second-largest crowd for any home opener in WNBA history, according to the Fire.

The previous record for a WNBA team's inaugural game was set by the Golden State Valkyries last season at 18,064 people, per Clarke.

The Fire are still in search of their first win after conceding a season-opening 98-83 loss to Kamilla Cardoso and the Sky.

Portland, which previously hosted a WNBA franchise from 2000 to 2002, is the latest city to make its league debut.

The Toronto Tempo opened their first season Friday night with a home loss to the Washington Mystics. The Tempo also sold out their opener at Coca-Cola Coliseum to a crowd of 8,210 fans.

The Fire followed up two days later with a crowd including Portland Trail Blazers star Jrue Holiday and former USWNT star Lauren Holiday as well as a halftime performance by Ashanti.

The Fire excited the sold-out stadium by making a comeback push late in the third quarter to come within one point of tying the game. The Sky ultimately pulled ahead in the fourth to seal the win.

Carla Leite, who scored the first points in Fire history, led her team with 18 points in the loss.

This isn't the first time professional women's sports in Portland have made history this spring. The NWSL's Portland Thorns set a franchise home opener record in March by drawing a crowd of 21,321 to a season-opening match against the Seattle Reign.

The Thorns previously led the NWSL with an average attendance of 18,173 fans per match during the 2025 season.

The Fire will now look to follow in the Thorns' footsteps as their inaugural season continues with a Tuesday night home game against the New York Liberty.