Toronto is officially getting a WNBA expansion team

 

The Women's National Basketball Association isn't just coming to Toronto, it's coming to Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, rapper Drake, Raptors star Scottie Barnes and former Raptors great Kyle Lowry were all in attendance at a downtown hotel Thursday morning as the WNBA made the new franchise official. Larry Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports Ventures are the owners of the as-yet unnamed team, that he hopes will be adopted across the country.

"This franchise will be Canada's team," Tanenbaum said. "While our home base will be at Exhibition Place in Toronto, we will play games in Vancouver and Montreal throughout the season, uniting the country behind our franchise and inspiring pride and passion in fans from coast to coast."

Tanenbaum is the chairman and CEO of Kilmer Group and the chairman of the board for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the NBA's Raptors and the NHL's Maple Leafs and other sports properties in Toronto. Kilmer Group also has a 25 per cent ownership stake in MLSE.

Kilmer Sports Ventures paid $115 million US for the WNBA team. Tanenbaum was also responsible for bringing the NBA to Toronto, with the Raptors joining the league 30 years ago.

Tanenbaum is the CEO and chairman of the board of Kilmer Group, as well as the owner of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which manages the Toronto Raptors, Maple Leafs, and other sports teams. Additionally, Kilmer Group owns a 25% share in MLSE.

For the WNBA team, Kilmer Sports Ventures paid $115 million in US dollars. The Raptors joined the NBA 30 years ago, and Tanenbaum was also instrumental in bringing the league to Toronto.

Trudeau, Ford, and Chow all praised Tanenbaum's efforts to bring the WNBA to Toronto. The three political leaders noted bringing a professional women's basketball team to Toronto was good for gender equality, but that it was a savvy business opportunity.

The 8,700-seat Coca-Cola Coliseum, located at Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto, will serve as the home arena for the WNBA club. There is also a 19,800-seat Scotiabank Arena that the team may occasionally use. The 103-year-old arena has also played host to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League and the inaugural Toronto squad of the Professional Women's Hockey League during its inaugural playoff run.

According to Kilmer Sports, improvements will be done to the arena so that the WNBA team may utilize it for practices and training as well.

Teresa Resch was named the WNBA team's first president during the announcement ceremony on Thursday. She had spent the last 10 years with the Raptors, helping to design and build the NBA team's practice facility the OVO Athletic Centre and launching the Raptors 905, Toronto's NBA G-League affiliate based in Mississauga, Ont.

CBC Sports was the first to report on May 10 that the women's professional basketball league had awarded a franchise to Kilmer Sports Ventures, headed by Toronto businessman Larry Tanenbaum.

Resch said that she'll put her more than decade of experience as a sports executive to use building the franchise.

Toronto's WNBA team will start playing in May 2026. It will be the WNBA's 14th franchise, with the expansion Golden State Valkyries set to start play next year.