The WNBA is bringing a team north of the border. North America’s premier professional women’s basketball league is soon to announce an expansion franchise in Toronto, according to CBC Sports’ Shireen Ahmed. A formal announcement is expected in Toronto on May 23, with the team set to begin play in the 2026 season.
It will be the WNBA’s 14th current franchise and the first outside the United States. The 2024 season will be the final WNBA season with 12 teams. The San Francisco-based Golden State franchise, introduced last October, will play its inaugural season in 2025. The two will be the 19th and 20th franchises in WNBA history.
Kilmer Sports Inc. will own the Toronto franchise. The group is led by Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment. The 79-year-old helped bring the NBA’s Toronto Raptors to town in the 90s.
Toronto hosted a WNBA preseason game between the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx last year that drew a sold-out crowd of nearly 20,000 to Scotiabank Arena. Over 16,000 were in attendance at Rogers Place in Edmonton on May 4 to watch a preseason clash between the Seattle Storm and Los Angeles Sparks.
The Toronto franchise will play its home games at Coca-Cola Coliseum, according to a source. The 102-year-old arena has 8,000 seats and is home to the Toronto Marlies, a minor-league affiliate of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert discussed the league’s latest plans for expansion before the draft on April 15. She said the league is confident it can expand to 16 teams by 2028 following the move to 14 in 2026.
Among other possible expansion cities mentioned by Engelbert along with Toronto were Philadelphia, Portland, Denver and Nashville.
