Kilmer Sports activities Inc., led by Toronto billionaire Larry Tanenbaum, secured an enlargement franchise with the WNBA, in response to a number of studies. The workforce will convey the variety of franchises within the league to 14 after the house owners of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors acquired an enlargement squad final October. Right here’s a breakdown of the Toronto announcement key factors:
Growth Announcement
- An official announcement concerning the enlargement franchise is predicted on Could 23 in Toronto.
- Play ought to start in Could 2026.
Larry Tanenbaum’s Function
- Tanenbaum, a outstanding determine in Toronto’s sporting scene, is the top of Kilmer Sports activities Inc.
- He’s a minority proprietor and chairman of Maple Leafs Sports activities and Leisure (MLSE), a sporting conglomerate that oversees the Maple Leafs, Raptors, TFC, Argos, and Marlies.
Preliminary Pursuit Via MLSE
- Initially, Tanenbaum endeavored to safe the enlargement workforce by means of MLSE. Nevertheless, different board members rebuffed the proposal.
Growth Panorama
- The WNBA not too long ago expanded to 13 groups, with the Golden State franchise set to debut subsequent yr.
- Commissioner Cathy Engelbert had beforehand hinted at Toronto being into account for the league’s 14th workforce.
Venue and Location
- The workforce will most likely play on the Coca-Cola Coliseum, an 8,000-seat enviornment.
- The sector is at the moment dwelling to the Marlies and hosts Toronto’s Skilled Girls’s Hockey League franchise.
Development of Girls’s Sports activities in Canada
- The rise {of professional} girls’s sports activities in Canada is clear, with the institution of the PWHL and a brand new girls’s soccer league scheduled to begin play in 2025.
- Current WNBA occasions in Canada, together with a sold-out pre-season recreation at Toronto’s Scotiabank Enviornment and a excessive ticket turnout in Edmonton’s Rogers Place, underscore the rising curiosity in girls’s basketball.
Formation of Kilmer Sports activities Inc.
- Kilmer Sports activities Inc. represents a contemporary enterprise below Tanenbaum’s Kilmer Group.
- Former European soccer government Ivan Gazidis has been appointed to steer the brand new entity, together with Teresa Resch, who joins from her earlier function as vice chairman of basketball operations with the Raptors.
Statements from Kilmer Group and WNBA
- Courtney Glen, vice chairman of public affairs and communications for the Kilmer Group, said that the group has “no replace right now.”
- A WNBA spokesperson stated they’re participating in productive conversations with possession teams in numerous markets however don’t have any information to report at the moment.
