Several media reports say the WNBA is officially coming to Toronto.
The CBC was the first to report that the women's professional basketball league has awarded a franchise to the Kilmer Group.
The reported deal would have Toronto's WNBA team start playing in May 2026.
A WNBA spokesperson said that the league had no update on a potential expansion into Canada or anywhere else.
"We continue to engage in productive conversations with interested ownership groups in a number of markets but have no news to report at this time," they said.
Larry 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.
He also owns 25 per cent of MLSE through Kilmer's holdings.
A spokeswoman for Kilmer Group told The Canadian Press that they have no updates at this time.
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.
"No specific timeline, because as soon as I give a timeline and things obviously change, it becomes kind of yesterday's news," said Engelbert. "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."
Canada has hosted two sold-out WNBA pre-season games in the past two years. Toronto's Scotiabank Arena was at capacity to see the Chicago Sky defeat the Minnesota Lynx 82-74 in 2023. Edmonton's Rogers Place was also filled as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Seattle Storm 84-79 on Saturday.
Banner image: The Chicago Sky take on the Minnesota Lynx in WNBA pre-season basketball action in Toronto on Saturday May 13, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2024.
