The game ball is shown in the first half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Monday, May 20, 2024. Kilmer Sports Ventures says it will make an "important announcement" at a news conference this morning following reports it has been granted a WNBA franchise for Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Michael Conroy
TORONTO – Kilmer Sports Ventures says it will make an “important announcement” at a news conference this morning following reports it has been granted a WNBA franchise for Toronto.
The CBC was the first to report on May 10 that the women’s professional basketball league awarded a franchise to Kilmer Sports Ventures, headed by Toronto businessman Larry Tanenbaum.
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 NHL’s Maple Leafs.
The Toronto-based WNBA team would reportedly begin play in 2026.
It would be the first Canadian team in the league, which currently has 12 teams but is expanding.
Canada hosted sold-out WNBA pre-season games at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena in 2023 and Edmonton’s Rogers Place on May 4.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2024.
