The WNBA鈥檚 widely reported arrival in Toronto isn鈥檛 just a good thing for women鈥檚 basketball in Canada, but for women鈥檚 sports in general, says one expert.
Several media outlets reported on Friday that the women鈥檚 professional basketball league had awarded a franchise to the Kilmer Group, which has a 25 per cent stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the owner of the NBA鈥檚 Toronto Raptors and NHL鈥檚 Toronto Maple Leafs, among other sports properties. The deal, first reported by the CBC, would have Toronto鈥檚 WNBA team start playing in May 2026.
Canadian Women and Sport CEO Allison Sandmeyer-Graves said that the arrival of a WNBA franchise in Toronto, the ongoing success of the Professional Women鈥檚 Hockey League and the development of Project 8 鈥� a planned Division I professional women鈥檚 soccer league 鈥� could have implications for society beyond the world of sports.
鈥淲e see the continued growth and development of women鈥檚 professional sport in this country as not only the potential for great commercial benefits for those who invest in it, but also for tremendous social impact in this country,鈥� said Sandmeyer-Graves. 鈥淗aving the WNBA form a team here in Canada would be a very significant positive step toward unlocking all of that potential.鈥�
Canadian Women and Sport is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the presence of girls and women at all levels and in all areas of sport.The organization issued a report on April 22 that found that two in three Canadians between the ages of 13 and 65 consider themselves to be fans of women鈥檚 sports.
Sandmeyer-Graves expects that by the time a Toronto WNBA team starts playing in 2026, the socio-economic realities of women鈥檚 sport will have evolved.
鈥淲hen we did this research back in October we found that there were already 17 million Canadians who describe themselves as fans of women鈥檚 sport. I expect that that number will continue to grow,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he number of avid fans among them will continue to grow as they鈥檙e given more and more opportunities to engage.
鈥淭hat and more Canadians will join the fandom, so I think that it鈥檚 tough to exactly predict what it will look like.鈥�
The WNBA did not confirm the media reports of a pending expansion into Canada but said in a statement it is continuing to explore adding teams.
鈥淲e continue to engage in productive conversations with interested ownership groups in a number of markets and the granting of any expansion teams requires a vote of the WNBA and NBA Board of Governors,鈥� the league said.
Larry Tanenbaum is the chairman and CEO of Kilmer Group and the chairman of the board for MLSE. He is a part owner of MLSE through Kilmer鈥檚 holdings.
A spokeswoman for Kilmer Group told The Canadian Press that they have no updates at this time.
Mayor Olivia Chow said in a television interview on Friday that she was aware there was movement on Toronto getting a women鈥檚 basketball team.
鈥淲ait for it. Hopefully, there will be something later on,鈥� said Chow in an interview with local news channel CP24. 鈥淏asketball, it鈥檚 just great and having role models, it鈥檚 time.
鈥淗opefully, there will be good news soon and I can鈥檛 wait for that to happen.鈥�
Although media reports in early March maintained that Toronto would have a team for the 2025 season, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said that expansion for that year had ended with a San Francisco-area team.
Engelbert said on March 7 that she was reluctant to give specific details on a potential Toronto franchise until it was locked in.
鈥淣o specific timeline, because as soon as I give a timeline and things obviously change, it becomes kind of yesterday鈥檚 news,鈥� said Engelbert. 鈥淚鈥檝e always said I think about 18 months out is when you need to essentially finalize things because you have to start working on a brand, Nike has to start to produce uniforms, things like that.鈥�
Canada has hosted two sold-out WNBA pre-season games in the past two years. Toronto鈥檚 Scotiabank Arena was at capacity to see the Chicago Sky defeat the Minnesota Lynx 82-74 in 2023. Edmonton鈥檚 Rogers Place was also filled as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Seattle Storm 84-79 on Saturday.
Sandmeyer-Graves said that NBA Canada managing director Leah MacNab deserved recognition for breathing life into the idea of a Toronto WNBA franchise.
鈥淪he really sold this possibility and this potential by hosting wildly successful back-to-back WNBA exhibition games over the last two years,鈥� said Sandmeyer-Graves. 鈥淚 really don鈥檛 think we鈥檇 be having the same conversation if it weren鈥檛 for Leah and her team, really going for it and demonstrating the possibility here in Canada.鈥�
Canadian women鈥檚 hockey star Sarah Nurse said the arrival of WNBA to Toronto is 鈥渉uge.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檝e spoken about it a lot 鈥� when they were here in Toronto, they were just in Edmonton, sold out that huge arena,鈥� said Nurse.
鈥淥bviously I have a vested interest in my cousin (Los Angeles Sparks guard Kia Nurse), she has done amazing things for Canada Basketball and to have a professional women鈥檚 basketball team here in Toronto is gonna be incredible for the next generation of basketball players in general.
鈥淥bviously we have the Raptors and you see what that鈥檚 done for basketball in Canada on the men鈥檚 side and I think this is gonna be just groundbreaking. And so, I鈥檓 very excited to have the women of the WNBA join us as professional women鈥檚 sports here in Toronto.鈥�
The WNBA announced on Thursday that it would have charter flights starting this season, a move that would also help in expanding to Canada.
The Canadian Press
