A site untested turned out to be one of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League’s best home markets of the season. When the AUSL announced the six cities that would host the league’s teams, many people, including myself, were a little surprised by the Portland announcement.
It was nothing against the area; it was because the league hadn’t tested it in any way. Athletes Unlimited Co-Founder and CEO Jon Patricof didn’t know about it either, but with Commissioner Kim Ng’s vision and knowledge of the area’s major support for women’s sports, it turned out to be a very smart decision.
“When we were discussing home cities for 2026, Kim was the one who came out and really suggested Portland and really pushed it,” Patricof said. “I have to say, I didn’t really know what to expect. It was not one of the cities we’d visited, so it was a big risk. She really had the vision for that marketplace, and I think she was right.”
Even as I sat 2,111 miles from Hillsboro Ballpark, it took no time at all to see the backing the Cascade had from the fans. In their last home series, the noise coming through the TV from the fans in attendance reminded me of the passion you’d get from a major college sporting event. This fan base turned out all season and delivered.
Out of 12 home games, 11 were sellouts. Even at 9:30 a.m. on a Sunday in June, the fans turned out. They just want to watch high-quality pro softball, and they received that. One of the most telling events happened when the Chicago Bandits and Utah Talons series finale relocated due to air quality concerns in Chicago. Fans turned out for that as well.
That kind of turnout for a game the market inherited on short notice, one that didn’t even involve the home team, said as much about Portland as any sellout on the schedule. The support wasn’t just tied to a single roster. It was there for the sport.
The players felt it up close. I asked Sierra Sacco-Ferrie and Megan Grant after their last home game what their takeaways were from playing in front of that crowd. The way the fan base took them in was a huge sign of the love they have for pro softball and the people in it.
“The fans are just very personable,” Sacco-Ferrie said. “They know us by name. They know what we did in the game. I think just really connecting with them, personally, is just huge for us.”
“I can’t say enough about the crowd,” Grant said. “It’s so nice when you know that they have our back no matter what, and I think they’re just really excited to see softball in Portland. With us being a new team and everything, they showed up and showed out. We just try to do the best we can for them.”
Portland head coach Tairia Flowers, whose team made a run into the play-in round in its inaugural season, said the crowd was a difference maker.
“It feels really good, just to give them a little bit back, for them to be able to see what they were a part of,” Flowers said. “Their excitement, and what they gave, and their energy, it got us to that point.”
She said the impact went beyond her own team. Anyone that visited Hillsboro, took notice of the environment.
“Every time another team came out, they talked about how good it was,” Flowers said. “They really saw the impact that our crowd had, and what our facilities brought to the table. It was a difference maker. It’s fun for our team just being able to be at this point, but I hope that our crowd knows that they were a big part of this.”
The league took notice too. Ng and Patricof are both set to return to the area in the coming weeks for the Epicenter: Women’s Global Sports Summit, a sign the relationship goes past the 12 dates on the schedule. Portland answered every question that mattered, and the Cascade delivered all summer long.
