On a historic day in Toronto that marked the rise of women's sports, the WNBA commissioner celebrated the moment by wearing custom high heels featuring the logos of all the league's teams.
Cathy Engelbert presented new owner Larry Tannenbaum with a ceremonial basketball to officially welcome the Toronto franchise into the league. Tannenbaum was wearing a white blazer and orange tie, the colors of the league he had just acquired.
Reports of the expansion have been circulating for months, but the league officially added its first team from outside the United States during a press conference at Toronto's Hotel X, just steps from the 8,700-seat arena that will be the team's home when it joins the WNBA in May 2026.
The announcement generated a great deal of interest in the city, drawing a large crowd that included celebrities, basketball stars, sports business leaders, media, and politicians such as Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Raptors executives and players, past and present, including Masai Ujiri, Scottie Barnes, and Kyle Lowry, were in attendance. Rapper and basketball fan Drake was also in attendance.
“This franchise will be Canada's team,” Tannenbaum said, “Our home base will be the Coca-Cola Coliseum at Exhibition Place in Toronto, but we will also play games in Vancouver and Montreal during the season, uniting the country behind our franchise and inspiring pride and passion in our fans across the country.”
Tannenbaum leads the ownership through Kilmer Sports Ventures. Tannenbaum is also chairman and minority owner of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the sports giant that owns several Toronto teams, including the Raptors and Maple Leafs.
Kilmer Sports Ventures paid $115 million for the WNBA franchise.
The company has committed to building a practice facility for the new team, but until that is completed, the team will practice at the University of Toronto's Goldring Centre.
Toronto joins the WNBA at a time of rapid growth for the league, which has recently set records in television ratings and season-ticket sales and has several cities hoping to expand with clubs. A star-studded 2024 rookie class that includes Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Cameron Brink helped bring in the highest television ratings in WNBA draft history.
Women's sports are also popular in Canada, with the fledgling Women's Professional Hockey League setting attendance records for women's hockey in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal this winter, and a Canadian Women's Professional Soccer League preparing to launch next year.
Engelbert spoke of the process of evaluating Toronto, which included negotiations and visits with Tannenbaum — the two even attended a Maple Leafs game together — and while there were countless details to iron out, Engelbert had been interested in Toronto for some time.
Toronto basketball fans first caught her attention when she attended an NBA Finals game in 2019 where the Raptors played Golden State. She was struck by the number of Raptors fans who had traveled to California to watch the game and were there to celebrate afterwards.
She noted that the WNBA was scheduled to play preseason games in Toronto in 2020, but the pandemic caused that to be canceled.
Instead, the Toronto game was moved to May 2023. It was the WNBA's first exhibition game in Canada, and it drew a sellout crowd at Scotiabank Arena. The game only cemented her love for Toronto. And the WNBA's market research backs up the league's experience there.
“I saw the excitement and vibrancy that was there in the city around women's sports, women's basketball and, of course, Canada basketball and Canadian players playing in the league at the highest level,” Engelbert said, “but when I met Larry; Jerry Maguire [movie moment]: “Hello, that one word got me.”
The Toronto team will become the WNBA's 14th franchise, with the expansion Golden State Valkyries set to begin play next year, and the commissioner expects the league to reach 16 teams by 2028.
“Right now I need new shoes,” Engelbert said, “because I have two other franchises here, but I'll wait until I get your brand.”
Toronto officials plan to take their time to solicit public input before deciding on a team name.
“We really want something that represents Canada, and we really want it to represent women,” said Teresa Resch, the Raptors' new president and a former executive for the past decade. “And we really want it to be cool.”
Also in attendance at Thursday's press conference were several Canadian women who have played basketball professionally or internationally.
“I've been hoping for this day for a long time,” said Markham's Tammy Sutton-Brown, who played in the WNBA, Europe and for Canada at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. “I've always hoped to be able to play on Canadian soil, and now Canadians at the W and future Canadians will have that opportunity.”
Tannenbaum said women's sports are on the rise. “A lot of people say women's sports are on the rise, but I don't think that's the case,” Tannenbaum said. “It's something that's been there for a long time, and the world is finally starting to take notice.”