2026 EPICENTER WEEK
Community Events:
Rose City Rising Beautify the Fields
Portland Fire, with Kaiser Permanente and Portland Public Schools, unveils a newly refurbished outdoor basketball court at a school with deep roots in Portland’s historically Black community. After the dedication, students join a youth clinic led by Portland Fire Ambassador and former WNBA player Helen Darling, featuring Literacy Layups — a new Portland Fire initiative blending basketball fundamentals with literacy-based movement drills. A Kaiser Permanente physician leads a wellness stretch.
A community beautification project in which the Portland Thorns partner with Portland Parks & Recreation to revitalize the neighborhood soccer field adjacent to Harriet Tubman Middle School — painting field lines, assembling portable goals, spreading mulch and seeding grass, repairing irrigation, and enhancing the nature play area.
gala
The signature evening celebration, a seated gala with silent and live auctions, dinner, performances and remarks. Master of Ceremonies is Karina LeBlanc; Gala Chair Marta Bhathal, Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, alongside their families, give welcome and closing remarks. The “Raise the Game” live auction and a mission video anchor the program.
SUMMIT
The centerpiece convening of Epicenter Week — an invitation-only business forum bringing owners, investors, league leaders, athletes, and brand builders into one room for a keynote and panels on the questions that decide the industry: governance, capital, performance, and athlete power. The confirmed speaker lineup spans leagues and governance, ownership, executives, elite athletes and coaches, investors, health and performance, and media.
Rose Table Dinner
Rose Table: Forces of Nature is an intimate dinner at the Portland Japanese Garden bringing together Epicenter Summit speakers and investors to continue the conversations started earlier in the day and deepen relationships one on one.
The evening also builds on Travel Portland’s recognition of Portland as the Global Epicenter of Women’s Sports, showcasing the women shaping the city through food, wine, music and culture, and reflecting the broader role women play in making Portland what it is.
EmpowHER Awards
“If you can see it, you can be it.”
The inaugural Portland Thorns & Portland Fire EmpowHER Awards honor girls and women who are leaders and changemakers in the Portland community. Following a six-month community nomination process, the evening celebrates eight award winners for their impact.
Kaiser Permanente Performance Center Opening
Epicenter Week marks the opening of the Kaiser Permanente Performance Center — a first-of-its-kind, $150M+ dual-sport training facility built for professional female athletes and the new official headquarters of the Portland Thorns and Portland Fire.
The ceremony includes a private media tour, an unveiling of the “KPPC piece,” and formal remarks.
1803 Fund Pep Rally
A free community pep rally presented by 1803 Fund that closes Epicenter Week ahead of the Portland Fire home game.
The celebration honors the achievements of Black women athletes across basketball, tennis, soccer, track, and gymnastics, bringing together Portlanders of all ages. The program blends live performance, crowd participation, and pro-athlete challenges, culminating in a group finale before guests head into the game.
2026 Summit Featured Speakers
Mel Auguste
Global VP, Sports
Marketing, Nike
Scout Bassett
7X U.S.
National Champion,
Paralympian
JT Batson
CEO and Secretary
General, U.S. Soccer
Jessica Berman
Commissioner, NWSL
Alex Bhathal
Executive Chair, RAJ Sports
Susan King Borchardt
Owner, The Athlete Blueprint
Dir. of Performance,
NY Liberty
Sports Marketing
Performance Director, Nike
Dr. Jacqueline Brady
Orthopedic Surgeon,
Kaiser Permanente
Adjunct Associate
Professor, OHSU
Lead Orthopedic Team
Sports Surgeon, Portland
Fire & Portland Thorns
Bridget Carleton
Portland Fire
2x Olympian with Canada
& 2026 WNBA 3-Point
Contest Participant
Andraya Carter
ESPN Analyst +
Basketball Personality
Laura Correnti
Founder & CEO,
Deep Blue Sports
+ Entertainment
Bethany Donaphin
SVP, Head of WNBA
League Operations
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
8× Olympic Medalist
17× World Championships
Medalist
Philanthropist
Kayla Green
President, ATHLOS
Tobin Heath
National Soccer Hall
of Fame ('26)
2× World Cup Champion
2× Olympic Gold Medalist
2X NWSL Champion
(Thorns)
Jayna Hefford
EVP Hockey Operations,
PWHL
5X Olympic Medalist,
4X Gold Medalist
Lauren Holiday
2× Olympic Gold Medalist
2015 FIFA World Cup
Champion
National Soccer Hall
of Fame ('23)
Sandra Idehen
Commissioner, LOVB
Craig Kessler
Commissioner, LPGA
Thayer Lavielle
Managing Director,
The Collective | THE·TEAM
Karina LeBlanc
EVP, Strategic
Growth Development
5X FIFA Women's World Cups
& 2X Olympic Games,
Olympic Medalist
Lisa Bhathal Merage
Governor, Portland Thorns
& Portland Fire
Bridget Munro
Principal Researcher &
Innovation, Nike
Kim Ng
Commissioner, AUSL
Sherri Privitera
Senior Principal, Populous
Dr. Stacy Sims
Female Athlete Health &
Performance Specialist,
Entrepreneur, Scientist,
Keynote Speaker;
Co-Founder, CRO —
Collective X
Sarah Spain
Host and Content Director,
iHeart Women's Sports
Dawn Staley
University of South Carolina
Head Women's Basketball Coach
3X Gold Medalist,
3X NCAA National
Championship-Winning Coach
Michelle Wie West
LPGA Icon &
Major Champion
Sophia Wilson
Portland Thorns,
NWSL Champion,
Olympic Gold Medalist,
2022 U.S. Soccer Female
Player of the Year,
Youngest NWSL MVP
EPICENTER WEEK
In 2026, Epicenter Week will return as a five-day convening in Portland, Oregon dedicated to advancing women's sports through business leadership, professional sport, community, and culture. Produced by RAJ Sports in partnership with Nike, the week brings together the people shaping the future of women's sports in the only city already living it.
Epicenter Week encompasses The Epicenter: Women's Global Sports Summit presented by Nike at The Philip H. Knight Campus, professional games featuring the Portland Thorns and Portland Fire, the EmpowHER Awards, and community programming.
Portland is cementing its place as the global epicenter of women's sports as the only city in the country with an NWSL and WNBA team under the same ownership group, a first-of-its-kind privately financed $150M+ dual-sport performance center built for the female athlete, and a fanbase that has been showing up for women's sports before it was a movement.
Epicenter Week is where that foundation becomes a global conversation.
August 19–23, 2026 | Portland, Oregon
THE EPICENTER: WOMEN'S GLOBAL SPORTS SUMMIT
The Epicenter: Women's Global Sports Summit presented by Nike is an invitation-only leadership forum for the senior executives, investors, athletes, and decision-makers shaping the next era of women's sports. Hosted at The Philip H. Knight Campus — Nike's global headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon — the Summit is the centerpiece of Epicenter Week. A full day of substantive programming, curated conversations, and high-value connection built around the people with the power to build what's next.
Attendance is by invitation only.
Thursday, August 20, 2026 | The Philip H. Knight Campus, Nike Headquarters | Beaverton, Oregon
FEATURED PRESS
THE GLOBAL EPICENTER OF WOMEN'S SPORTS
⌾
THE GLOBAL EPICENTER OF WOMEN'S SPORTS ⌾
Thank you to our Presenting partner
Thank you to our Supporting partners
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 Fire expansion team represents a milestone for the city of Portland and places it at the epicenter of growth for women’s sports.
