The WNBA is in the final stages of negotiations to add a Toronto franchise that will start play in 2026, sources confirmed to ESPN, as the league hopes to add two franchises that season.
An official announcement for the Toronto team is expected May 23, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which first reported on the expansion franchise.
League sources told ESPN that no official vote on a Toronto expansion franchise has been held.
“We continue to engage in productive conversations with interested ownership groups in a number of markets and the granting of any expansion teams requires a vote of the WNBA and NBA Board of Governors,” a WNBA spokesperson said in a statement.
Along with Toronto, sources confirmed that groups are in talks to revive a bid for a new team in Portland, as first reported by The Oregonian. The additions would bring the WNBA to 15 teams. An expansion franchise in Golden State is set to join the league in 2025.
The Toronto team, which would be the first WNBA team outside the United States, will be owned by Kilmer Sports Inc., headed by Toronto billionaire Larry Tanenbaum. Tanenbaum is a minority owner and chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Maple Leafs and Raptors, among other…
