The WNBA is crossing the border!
According to a CBC report, Toronto will be getting a Women’s National Basketball Association expansion franchise for the 2026 WNBA season. Kilmer Sports Inc., led by Toronto billionaire Larry Tanenbaum, will own the franchise.
The report says the league’s official announcement is expected to be made on May 23rd, in about two weeks.
Tanenbaum is known for his role as a minority owner and chairman of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment. He initially pitched the idea of acquiring a WNBA team through MLSE but was turned down by the board.
The new Toronto WNBA team is expected to play at Coca-Cola Coliseum (the former Ricoh Coliseum). The 8,000-seat arena, located on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition, has been home to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies for twenty years. It recently hosted Toronto’s PWHL playoff game against Minnesota earlier this week.
Expanding to Toronto is just the latest move by the WNBA to increase its reach across North America. The league will also be adding a club in San Francisco next year. Toronto put itself on the WNBA map with a highly successful sold-out exhibition game last year at Scotiabank Arena.
LINK: WNBA team logos and uniform history
While we’ve seen some crossovers between the WNBA and NBA branding among teams that share cities, we’ll likely not see this from Toronto’s new WNBA team as the Raptors ownership is separate.
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