Portland Thorns welcome new slate of investors as women’s sports continue to grow in popularity

Portland’s professional women’s soccer team will add five new members to its investor group, including a former NBA player and the head of a major sportswear company, the club announced Thursday.

It comes after the three-time champion Portland Thorns FC welcomed new owners in January. California-based RAJ Sports, led by siblings Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, acquired the team after Merritt Paulson stepped down in 2022 following an investigation that showed he mishandled allegations of sexual harassment. It was part of a larger scandal uncovering systemic abuse in the league, first reported by The Athletic.

RAJ Sports is the sports team ownership and investing arm of the Bhathal family’s company Revitate. Kunal Merchant, a partner and chief operating officer at Revitate, is among the new investors. Merchant helped advise the Bhathal’s initial acquisition of the Thorns.

“Investor interest in the Thorns is off the charts,” Merchant said in a statement. “We are gratified and inspired to see so much belief in the future of the Thorns and in women’s sports more broadly.”

In addition to Merchant, the new investors include Columbia Sportswear CEO and lifelong Portland-area resident, Tim Boyle. Joining them is Sam Garvin, a part-owner of Phoenix’s NBA team, as well as former NBA player, Josh Childress. The co-managing partner of a private equity firm, Nehal Raj, rounds out the group.

The Thorns said in a statement the new investors will help the “buildout of new business and philanthropic initiatives, and development of a new state-of-the-art training facility.”

The Portland Thorns are considered one of the most successful women’s soccer franchises to date. It is one of the league leaders in attendance, welcoming an average of more than 18,000 fans per game to Providence Park during the 2023 season.

The announcement comes as women’s sports – especially soccer and basketball – are experiencing record viewership, league expansions and increased media attention. Just a handful of years ago, an NWSL team sold for under $10 million; the January sale of the Thorns to the Bhathal family was reportedly valued at $63 million.

“I commented on the potential value in sponsoring US soccer teams a few years ago and I am feeling like it was a good prediction,” Bettina Cornwell, head of the Marketing Department at University of Oregon’s business school, said in an email to OPB. “The interest in women’s soccer is next level and it should be, given their performance and the broad social desire to progress women’s sports.”

Cornwell said when respected investors like Boyle turn to women’s sports, it can signal to the risk-adverse marketplace that it’s a smart bet – and can encourage more investors.

The success of the Thorns has helped grow Portland’s reputation as a women’s sports hub. The city and the wider state have had strong collegiate programs for women’s athletes for decades, something sports marketing experts say helped garner a fanbase for the Thorns.

High attendance numbers and community support for the Thorns have also helped bolster arguments from city officials that Portland should be the next home of a WNBA expansion team. The league opted not to add a team in the Rose City during the current round of expansion, citing construction concerns at the Moda Center. However, the WNBA commissioner has said Portland is still in the running, and the Bhathals have been floated as potentially interested owners.

The investment announcement comes at a good time for the Thorns. They’re on a six-game winning streak and are in fourth place in the NWSL standings.