Border Crossing: Toronto Named As WNBA’s 14th Team, To Begin Play in 2026
Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 01:49PM By Barry Janoff
May 23, 2024: Describing it as “an important milestone for our league,” the WNBA today officially expanded to Canada by awarding Toronto a franchise, the league’s first outside the U.S.
The new team is scheduled to begin play in the 2026 season as the WNBA’s 14th franchise, owned and operated by Kilmer Sports Ventures.
The name, logo and other official details are still TBD.
The WNBA’s 13th team, the Golden State Valkyries, was unveiled this past October under the auspices of Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, co-executive chairmen for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. and is scheduled to begin play in 2025 in the Chase Center, home to the Warriors.
The Toronto team will also have NBA-connected ownership.
Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Kilmer Sports Ventures, is also chairman for the NBA Board of Governors and chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, MLS’ Toronto FC and other professional sports franchises.
Tanenbaum-led Kilmer Sports Ventures is paying $115 million for the team, according to industry analysts.
“Women’s sports is good business,” Tanenbaum told AP Sports. “Just look around — it’s not a moment, but a movement and it’s just the beginning. The investment that we’ll put into the franchise will also be no different than the other franchises.”
The team will play its home games in 8,700-seat Coca-Cola Coliseum at Exhibition Place.
Additional games may be played in 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 during a media event. 
“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.”
WNBA in 2023 played a pre-season game in Toronto and this past pre-season played a game in Edmonton.
“Today is a game-changing day not only for women’s basketball but also for sports in Canada,” said Tanenbaum. “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.”
In recent comments, Engelbert said she would like the WNBA to expand to 16 teams by 2027-28,
WNBA’s 13th Team Led By NBA Warriors Ownership
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