It was expected and it is now official: after San Francisco in 2025, the WNBA will have a new representative in 2026, in Toronto!
Larry Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports Venture group will be the owner, just like the Raptors in the NBA, the Maple Leafs in the NHL, the Argonauts in the CFL and Toronto FC in MLS.
“What I noticed over the last 28 years is that what was really missing from the professional sports landscape [à Toronto], it was a women's team. It was obvious! »underlines Larry Tanenbaum in the Toronto Starwhile a press conference is currently being held, in the presence of Kyle Lowry, Scottie Barnes, Masai Ujiri and even Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada. “We all watch women's basketball, women's hockey or women's football at the Olympics: so why not have a women's basketball team here? »
“Toronto ticked all the boxes”
A month ago, on the sidelines of the Draft which saw Caitlin Clark be selected in first position, Cathy Engelbert, the boss of the WNBA, explained her plan for the expansion of the league and Toronto will therefore be the new franchise which completes the chessboard in 2026. Before two more by 2028…
“He has always been an advocate for women's sports and has the experience, expertise and infrastructure to create a world-class franchise”confirmed the “commissioner”. “It’s very exciting that he’s building his own franchise and the WNBA benefits from it. With its demographic and psychographic indicators (to identify consumers by psychological criteria), Toronto ticked all the boxes. »
While an exhibition match in May 2023 was played to a sold-out crowd at the Scotiabank Arena, with almost 20,000 fans, the new franchise will play its matches at the Coca-Cola Coliseum, with probable “events” in the much larger Scotiabank. .
“Larry wanted the Coliseum to be their venue but I suspect we will also have games at the Scotiabank”concludes Cathy Engelbert. “It’s something we’ve talked about. And with the growth of the League, the sheer level of pure talent and these highly talented players coming through, we will be able to fill Scotiabank night after night. »
