It’s official: The WNBA is expanding to Canada with a Toronto team

After rumours that Toronto was being selected as the WNBA’s 14th franchise, it’s finally official! The Women’s National Basketball Association announced on May 23rd that it has expanded to Canada by awarding Toronto a team, the league’s first outside the United States.

Here are all the details.

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The new Toronto team will start its first season in 2026.

The team will be owned and operated by Kilmer Sports Ventures with Chairman Larry Tanenbaum holding 30 years of building championship-calibre teams.

Tanenbaum is also Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors and Chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, MLS’ Toronto FC and other professional sports franchises.

“Bringing a WNBA team to Toronto represents an important milestone for our league as we continue to expand both domestically and outside the United States,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

The WNBA Toronto team will play its home games at Coca-Cola Coliseum at Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto.

According to the WNBA, additional games may be played at Scotiabank Arena and across Canada.

The organization has also “committed to building a new, state-of-the-art practice facility that will be dedicated to the team and community initiatives.”

We can’t wait to welcome the WNBA to Toronto!