Kyle Lowry, Masai Ujiri attend conference announcing WNBA team in Toronto

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Posted By: jasabacklink May 23, 2024

The WNBA is officially coming to Toronto, ending weeks of speculation and marking Canada’s most populous city as home to the league’s 14th franchise.

The official announcement was made Thursday morning at a press conference at a downtown Toronto hotel attended by President of the Toronto Raptors Masai Ujiri, Toronto Raptors star Scottie Barnes, and former Raptors player Kyle Lowry. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and rapper Drake also attended the conference.

The as-yet-unnamed team — which will be the league’s first outside of the United States — will begin playing in the 2026 season. The team will be owned and operated by Kilmer Sports Ventures, with Larry Tanenbaum at the helm. Tanenbaum is the Chairman of Kilmer Sports Ventures as well as a Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors and Chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, and MLS’ Toronto FC.  Under his leadership, the Raptors won their first NBA championship in 2019.

“Today is a game-changing day not only for women’s basketball but also for sports in Canada,” Tanenbaum said at the conference.  “This franchise will be Canada’s team, and we are so excited to unite the country and inspire pride and passion in fans from coast to coast.”

The team will play its home games at the historic Coca-Cola Coliseum — an 8,000-seat arena at Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto, which is already home to the Marlies.  It’s expected that additional games may be played at Scotiabank Arena and across Canada.

The team has also committed to building a new, state-of-the-art practice facility that will be dedicated to the team and community initiatives.

“Bringing a WNBA team to Toronto represents an important milestone for our league as we continue to expand both domestically and outside the United States,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement.  “With Larry Tanenbaum’s distinguished record of leading successful sports franchises and Toronto’s appeal as a dynamic, diverse city that cares deeply about the game of basketball, we are confident that this new team will thrive as a first-class WNBA organization and become a great source of inspiration and support for the Toronto-area community and across Canada.”

It’s believed that the team will make a huge economic impact on the city as the popularity of professional women’s sports seems to be on the rise in Canada. If nothing else, local politicians are touting about how much it will boost tourism to the city and province.

“On behalf of the province of Ontario, I’m thrilled to welcome the first WNBA team in Canadian history to Toronto,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement. “The WNBA will be a fantastic addition to Ontario’s dynamic sports landscape, helping to increase tourism and inspire more women and girls to get involved in basketball.  I can’t wait to cheer on Ontario’s newest home team!”