Now that FC and the Sol are gone this is moot, but it seems Portland would be a great Western city for a club. LA, Bay and Portland should have been inaugural teams to help keep the Western teams afloat with closer travel partners to compete against. The city of Portland has embraced soccer at both the collegiate and professional level. Look at attendance numbers annually at Merlo Field. Draft a few Pilots and you have a built-in fanbase of over 3,000 fans.
A) Maybe your questions are best asked in the expansion sub-forum. B) I'm fairly certain that only one thing is required for WPS to grant a city an expanison team. A very wealthy owner willing to take the > $2mil losses per season on the front end. If Portland (or any other city) has a deep pocket ownership group, then they'll be able to start a WPS club. C) My specific concern about Portland (were they to even have a deep pocket owner) is market over-saturation. Would Pilot soccer fans turn out frequently enough in the summer for a much less established product at a higher cost? eta: maybe a nice mod will move this thread to the expansion sub-forum...
Unless Portland ownership is willing to pay for all travel to the West, I think WPS will try to solidify their financial standing and then expand Westward when more teams can be financed.