The WNBA is heading back to Canada on May 5th when the Los Angeles Sparks battle the Seattle Storm in Edmonton, while talks surrounding an expansion team in Toronto are heating up.
The WNBA Canada Game 2024 will mark the second consecutive season that the league will be playing in Canada after the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx faced off at a sold-out Scotiabank Arena last year. The game set records in attendance, broadcast viewership and merchandise sales in Canada.
The same is expected this time around as Edmonton’s Rogers Place was sold out in eight minutes according to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, especially as Hamilton-native Kia Nurse will be featured in the matchup.
“One of Canada’s greatest basketball players, Sparks guard Kia Nurse, is returning to play in front of her Canadian fans as my Los Angeles Sparks take on the Seattle Storm in this year’s WNBA Canada Game,” said Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Sparks co-owner, in a statement. “Showcasing some of the league’s top talent in Canada is a great opportunity to continue building dedicated WNBA fans outside of the U.S.”
With the Canada Game 2024 being the fourth international game in WNBA history, after Monterrey (2004), Manchester (2011) and Toronto (2023) each hosted a pre-season game in the past, the league continues to build a fanbase abroad, leading to a WNBA franchise possibly coming to Toronto.
Larry Tanenbaum, part-owner and chairman of MLSE, is pursuing a WNBA team in Toronto through his holding company, the Kilmer Group, according to CBC Sports’ Shireen Ahmed.
Ahmed reports that Tanenbaum’s representatives are expected to meet with the WNBA to discuss the bidding process for a team, with a formal announcement as soon as May.
The group is exploring Coca-Cola Coliseum, the home of the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL), as a possible venue for Toronto’s WNBA team, with aspirations of building a practice facility there that could be used by both the Canadian men’s and women’s national teams.
However, if a team were to come to Toronto they likely wouldn’t begin play until at least the 2026 season.
“I’ve 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,” said Engelbert in a conference call. “Any teams would begin in 2026 and beyond.”
Golden State is the only expansion team beginning play in the 2025 season – the first expansion team since 2008 and the 13th WNBA franchise – costing a reported $53 million USD expansion fee.
For more information on the WNBA, head to wnba.com.
