Toronto has been awarded a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) franchise that will start playing in May 2026. According to Shireen Ahmed from CBC Sports, the bid by Toronto billionaire Larry Tanenbaum’s Kilmer Sports Group to bring the franchise to Toronto was accepted, and an announcement will be made on May 23.
***BREAKING NEWS***
WNBA in The Six is official. Larry Tannenbaum’s Kilmer Sports Inc has finalized the deal. What a time for women’s sports in Canada! https://t.co/g5VoesPyy1
— Shireen Ahmed (@_shireenahmed_) May 10, 2024
Tanenbaum, 79, is a minority owner and chairman of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors, TFC, Argos and Marlies.
He initially pursued the expansion team through MLSE, but it was turned down by other board members.
There is currently not much information about the team name or coach, but we do know that Teresa Resch will be a part of the new organization after recently leaving her role as VP of basketball operations and player development with the Raptors. The team will also likely play at Toronto’s Coca-Cola Coliseum — an 8,000-seat arena at Exhibition Place, which is already home to the Marlies.
Fans seem more than excited about women’s professional basketball coming to the city.
I am so hyped for this. 🏀🔥
— DinaGraser (@DinaGraser) May 10, 2024
I’ve been saying for a long time that Toronto could, and should, have a WNBA franchise. I’m glad to see it’s finally coming.
— Matt B (@theRealMattBull) May 10, 2024
This is awesome. We are new season ticket holders for the @PWHL_Toronto this season and it has been awesome. Go Blue!!! Larry build a new arena with more women’s bathrooms! You’re gonna need it.
— Meredith Heron (@meredithheron) May 10, 2024
People are even leaving suggestions on who should be drafted:
Juju Watkins 2027 draft
Lauren Betts 2026 draft
Okay 👍🏼 👍🏼— KJ-B (@KJ2DB) May 10, 2024
The popularity of professional women’s sports seems to be on the rise in Canada. The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) was only founded in 2023, but its first game at Scotiabank Arena in February saw a league and women’s hockey attendance record with a crowd of 19,285. This number even surpassed the previous PWHL record of 13,316 people at Xcel Energy Center for Minnesota’s home opener in January, and surpassed the 18,013 people who watched Canada’s game against Finland at the 2013 Women’s World Championship in Ottawa.
Some people will go to extreme lengths to show their support for professional women’s sports teams, so it’s likely that the new WNBA franchise will make an equally significant impact.
