The Fire claim more than 12,500 season ticket reservations ahead of their 2026 debut, while a women’s soccer city that produced global stars Tiffeny Milbrett, Megan Rapinoe, and Christine Sinclair at the University of Portland gets ready to welcome Sinclair back for a number retirement ceremony later this season. The LPGA Portland Classic tees off its 54th installment later this month, while the NCAA brings its March Madness women’s regionals to town in 2028 and its Final Four and Championship in 2030.

In a city where The Sports Bra not only inspired dozens of bars dedicated to women’s sports but also franchises in Indianapolis, St. Louis, Boston, and Las Vegas, it’s not uncommon to see boys and men in Thorns jerseys and women’s sports bringing lots of people together. As LeBlanc has discovered, those people swayed by her message and that of the Epicenter summit aren’t always typical sports fans, but neighbors who connect through their kids, the arts, local food, and other shared interests.

“The Bhathal family saw this in me—I knew the GM and president role wasn’t the role that I loved—but they saw this opportunity for me and they created this position for me to speak and be my authentic self because this is what I’ve lived… this is who I am,” LeBlanc said.