WNBA Expansion Franchise Awarded to Toronto, CBC Sports Reports

Toronto has been awarded the WNBA’s 14th franchise, according to CBC Sports, and the team will begin play in the 2026 season.

The franchise will be owned by billionaire Larry Tanenbaum’s Kilmer Sports Inc. The 79-year-old is a minority owner of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, which owns other sports franchises including the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, MLS’ Toronto FC, the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts and the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. MLSE also owns Scotiabank Arena, where the Maple Leafs and Raptors play their home games.

The expansion fee for the Toronto franchise is unknown at this time. “We continue to engage in productive conversations with interested ownership groups in a number of markets but have no news report at this time,” a WNBA spokesperson said in a statement Friday morning. Kilmer Sports has not responded to a request for comment.

The Golden State Warriors ownership group led by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber agreed to pay a record $50 million for the WNBA’s Bay Area expansion franchise, which begins play in 2025.

CBC reported the W’s Toronto team will play at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, home of the Marlies, which seats around 8,000 fans. It also reported a formal announcement about the expansion team will come on May 23 in Toronto.