Thorns sale shows off rapid rise in women's soccer

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The value of women's soccer hasn't been a surprise in Portland - for decades.

But, the world is catching up fast, economically, anyway.

Just five calendar years after one of the original eight NWSL teams sold for $3.5 million, the Portland Thorns announced their sale on Wednesday for $63 million, making it the most valuable purchase since the league's founding in 2013.

Investment moguls Lisa Bhathal Merage and her brother, Alex Bhathal, are buying the Thorns from Merritt Paulson, who has owned the women’s team since its inception. Paulson is also the owner of the Portland Timbers, who entered MLS in 2011.

Paulson bought the Timbers and baseball's Portland Beavers for $50 million in 2007 along with this father, Henry M. Paulson, who served as Secretary of the Treasury at the time. Paulson sold the Beavers for $15 million in 2010, then moved the Timbers into MLS for a $40 million expansion fee. The Timbers/Thorns were valued at $650 million by Forbes last year.

The Bhathal family is also a minority owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and Sacramento River Cats (the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants).

The Bhathals operate RAJ Capital, which was formed in 2016 after the family sold its swimwear business. The Thorns will now fall under the RAJ Sports banner.

The Thorns will continue to play at Providence Park, which also houses the Timbers, and the Bhathals have committed to supporting the construction of a women’s soccer-specific training facility in Portland. The NWSL’s Kansas City Current, which opened an $18 million training facility in 2022, are set to open a new stadium in March 2024 - the first in the U.S. to be purposefully built by a women’s professional sports organization.

The previous record for NWSL acquisitions was $53 million paid by incoming ownership groups for expansion franchises in Boston and the San Fransisco Bay Area that will begin play this year.

The Chicago Red Stars, an original NWSL team, were sold for $35.5 million last year.

The Washington Spirit were sold for $35 million in 2022.

The Seattle Reign were sold for $3.5 million in 2019 by orignal owners Bill and Teresa Predmore to Olympic Lyonaise of France. This past year, the team was sold to the Seattle Sounders for $53 million.

Further expansion is planned for 2026, but locations have not been selected and franchise fees have not been announced.

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