The WNBA is coming to Toronto, and it's a moment. Larry Tanenbaum has been granted a WNBA expansion franchise that will start play in 2026, in the 8,000-seat Coca-Cola Coliseum at Exhibition Place. Toronto will be the league's 14th team, after Golden State launches in 2025, with more expansion planned. It will be a project a long time in the making.
And it still could have been better. This should have been a Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment play. The muscle, the reach, and the power of that organization would have helped. Moreover, you can bet it would have been a smart financial and cultural move by the city's dominant sports organization. Everybody could have come out with a win.
Instead, this belongs to Tanenbaum, and the spinoff division of Kilmer Sports. The franchise will be run by highly regarded former Raptors executive Teresa Resch, and it is projected to lose money at first perhaps as much as a million dollars a year, according to sources with an understanding of the plan - and is not guaranteed to make an operating profit. There is a path to profitability, but it is not certain.
That said, with just a little vision, a WNBA team was an obvious play in Toronto. The Chicago-Minnesota game at Scotiabank Arena last year was a triumph. The sport was exploding even before Caitlin Clark came along.
Denne historien er fra May 11, 2024-utgaven av Toronto Star.
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Denne historien er fra May 11, 2024-utgaven av Toronto Star.
Abonner på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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