PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – The Portland Trail Blazers will soon share the Moda Center with another professional team as the return of the WNBA is scheduled to tip off in May. Meanwhile, Sunday was Portland Fire Night in Rip City.<\/p>\n
Portland Fire general manager Vanja \u010cernivic celebrated her birthday weekend on International Women\u2019s Day, where the Trail Blazers hosted a WNBA Portland Fire theme night against the Indiana Pacers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really want this to become the city where athletes want to come, so hopefully by the end of the season, we get to look back and say we added another pillar to what the epicenter of women\u2019s sports means,\u201d \u010cernivic said. \u201cComing from San Francisco, I didn\u2019t know what to expect, but I feel in love with the city very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former VP of the Golden State Valkakries is eager, like the rest, to see the awaited news of a collective bargaining agreement between WNBA players and owners that needs to come together soon for the season to tip off on time.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow watching the clubs from the 2000s, this arena was almost full. It had the highest attendance and I think Portland fans were kind of ahead of the curve when it comes to supporting women\u2019s sports and women\u2019s basketball,\u201d \u010cernivic said.<\/p>\n
When the new CBA is finalized, GMs like \u010cernivic will be all gas, no breaks on player acquisitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this stage, this is out of our control, the CBA so the most we can do as a staff is be prepared for when we will have to start rolling so very excited and then we will take the fans on a journey through the expansion draft and then free agency and then the NCAA draft and finally tip off here on May 9th so the excitement is peak high and I just am hoping the CBA gets finalized,\u201d \u010cernivic said.<\/p>\n