The WNBA and its players association must reach a collective bargaining agreement by March 10 for the season to start on time. <\/p>\n
PORTLAND, Ore. \u2014 Whether the Portland Fire’s inaugural season will start on time could depend on Tuesday’s deadline.<\/p>\n
The WNBA and its players association, the WNBPA, must reach a collective bargaining agreement by March 10, a deadline set by the league to ensure the season can begin as scheduled on May 8.<\/p>\n
The Portland Fire are\u00a0scheduled to play its first game<\/a> \u2014 and home opener \u2014 on Saturday, May 9, against the Chicago Sky. However, several steps must be completed before then, firstly the Portland Fire need players.\u00a0<\/p>\n Due to ongoing CBA negotiations, none of the offseason activities have been able to be completed, including the WNBA expansion draft that had been anticipated for December and the free agency period that was set to open in January.<\/p>\n Instead, this season’s two expansion teams, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, have been left in limbo while awaiting the outcome of negotiations.<\/p>\n The CBA establishes rules governing salaries, free agency, benefits, revenue distribution, working conditions, travel and other aspects of the league.<\/p>\n The WNBA sent a new collective bargaining agreement proposal to the union on Saturday. It was in response to a proposal the union sent the day before, the\u00a0Associated Press<\/a> reported, citing a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks.<\/p>\n Details of either proposal have not been reported. The exchange comes just days ahead of the league\u2019s deadline.<\/p>\n