Portland Fire and Thorns open new Hillsboro training hub

The Portland Fire and Portland Thorns now share a permanent training home: the Kaiser Permanente Performance Center in Hillsboro, Oregon. RAJ Sports unveiled the 100,000-square-foot dual-sport facility on August 21, 2026, giving both women’s pro teams elite training, recovery, and medical resources under one roof.

The unveiling landed during Epicenter Week, RAJ Sports’ celebration of women’s sports in Portland. For fans and investors tracking infrastructure bets in the women’s game, the Hillsboro campus is a concrete signal that ownership is putting long-term capital behind player performance—not just marketing. Coverage of similar ownership and growth plays often sits alongside wealth hacks and passive income stories about where capital is flowing next.

Key Takeaways

• RAJ Sports opened the Kaiser Permanente Performance Center in Hillsboro for the WNBA’s Portland Fire and the NWSL’s Portland Thorns on August 21, 2026.
• The 100,000-square-foot site is described as a first-of-its-kind dual-sport center purpose-built for professional women athletes.
• Amenities span two soccer pitches, two basketball courts, strength and recovery labs, dining led by a chef and nutritionist, and family support spaces.
• Kaiser Permanente will provide sports medicine, rehab, mental health, and long-term athlete care on site.
• The launch coincides with Epicenter Week, including a Nike–RAJ Sports partnership announcement to advance women’s pro sports in Portland.

What did the Portland Fire and Thorns just open?

According to KPTV, RAJ Sports, the Portland Fire, and the Portland Thorns unveiled a state-of-the-art training facility in Hillsboro during what organizers call a historic Epicenter of Women’s Sports week.

KATU reports the Kaiser Permanente Performance Center opened Friday as the new training home for both clubs. RAJ Sports frames the project as an integrated elite environment that combines strength and conditioning, sports science, sports medicine, recovery, nutrition, and wellness in one athlete experience.

“This facility reflects our long-term investment in our players, their performance, recovery and overall wellbeing, and represents the kind of infrastructure we believe will help define the next era of women’s sports,” said RAJ Sports Co-Owner and Portland Fire and Portland Thorns Governor Lisa Bhathal Merage, per KATU.

Why does a shared Hillsboro campus matter for women’s sports?

RAJ Sports describes the Hillsboro site as a first-of-its-kind dual-sport performance center purpose-built for professional women athletes—serving a WNBA club and an NWSL club under one roof.

That matters because training quality, medical access, and recovery time shape seasons as much as roster construction. Housing soccer and basketball together also concentrates staff expertise, equipment, and healthcare on a single campus.

The timing reinforces the message. The unveiling sits inside Epicenter Week, an industry summit tied to Nike’s Philip H. Knight Campus, with Nike and RAJ Sports announcing a new partnership on Thursday to advance women’s professional sports in Portland, KPTV reported.

What is inside the Kaiser Permanente Performance Center?

Local reporting outlines a full performance stack. KPTV and KATU list two full-sized soccer pitches plus outdoor training space, and a 17,000-square-foot practice gym with two full-sized basketball courts.

A 5,000-square-foot strength and performance center includes outdoor turf training, a yoga and Pilates studio, and equipment from Nike Strength and Lifetime Fitness. Recovery tools include semi-recessed hydrotherapy pools and an underwater treadmill.

Players also get a full-service dining room run by a full-time chef and nutritionist, with fueling stations around the building. Team meeting rooms and content creation studios support film work and media. Private player entrances and secured parking aim to protect convenience and privacy for each squad.

Family design is part of the brief: dedicated family spaces, plus two mother’s rooms for players who are parents, according to KATU. Kaiser Permanente, the teams’ official physicians and healthcare providers, will deliver sports medicine, injury prevention, rehabilitation, mental health services, and long-term athlete care at the facility.

Populous designed the center. Portland-based Hoffman Construction served as general contractor and builder, KATU reported.

How does Epicenter Week frame this opening?

RAJ Sports’ second annual Epicenter of Women’s Sports celebration in Portland pairs the facility reveal with a leadership summit, Thorns and Fire games, and community events. The industry gathering at Nike’s campus puts owners, operators, and brands in the same week as the ribbon moment—tying infrastructure news to broader momentum talk around women’s sports.

For the Portland Fire and the Thorns, the Hillsboro campus is now a shared, purpose-built base—sized for elite women’s sport and staffed for performance, recovery, and care in one place.

Bottom line: the Portland Fire and Thorns did not just cut a ceremonial ribbon. They moved into a 100,000-square-foot, medically integrated, dual-sport training home built to keep athletes healthier, better fueled, and more prepared—during a week Portland is hosting as an epicenter of women’s sports.