{"id":19870,"date":"2024-05-10T15:03:18","date_gmt":"2024-05-10T15:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/toronto-awarded-a-wnba-team-key-facts-so-far-hoopfeed-com\/"},"modified":"2024-05-10T15:03:20","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T15:03:20","slug":"toronto-awarded-a-wnba-team-key-facts-so-far-hoopfeed-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/toronto-awarded-a-wnba-team-key-facts-so-far-hoopfeed-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Awarded a WNBA Team, Key Facts So Far \u2013 Hoopfeed.com"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Kilmer Sports Inc., led by Toronto billionaire Larry Tanenbaum, secured an expansion franchise with the WNBA, according to multiple reports. The team will bring the number of franchises in the league to 14 after the owners of the NBA\u2019s Golden State Warriors received an expansion squad last October. Here\u2019s a breakdown of the Toronto announcement key points:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Expansion Announcement<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">An official announcement regarding the expansion franchise\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">is expected<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0on May 23 in Toronto.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Play should begin in May 2026.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Larry Tanenbaum\u2019s Role<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Tanenbaum, a prominent figure in Toronto\u2019s sporting scene, is the head of Kilmer Sports Inc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He is a minority owner and chairman of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), a sporting conglomerate that oversees the Maple Leafs, Raptors, TFC, Argos, and Marlies.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Initial Pursuit Through MLSE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Initially, Tanenbaum endeavored to secure the expansion team through MLSE. However, other board members rebuffed the proposal.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Expansion Landscape<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The WNBA recently expanded to 13 teams, with the Golden State franchise set to debut next year.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Commissioner Cathy Engelbert had previously hinted at Toronto being under consideration for the league\u2019s 14th team.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Venue and Location<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The team will probably play at the Coca-Cola Coliseum, an 8,000-seat arena.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The arena is currently home to the Marlies and hosts Toronto\u2019s Professional Women\u2019s Hockey League franchise.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Growth of Women\u2019s Sports in Canada<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The rise of professional women\u2019s sports in Canada is evident, with the establishment of the PWHL and a new women\u2019s soccer league scheduled to commence play in 2025.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Recent WNBA events in Canada, including a sold-out pre-season game at Toronto\u2019s Scotiabank Arena and a high ticket turnout in Edmonton\u2019s Rogers Place, underscore the growing interest in women\u2019s basketball.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Formation of Kilmer Sports Inc.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Kilmer Sports Inc. represents a fresh venture under Tanenbaum\u2019s Kilmer Group.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Former European soccer executive Ivan Gazidis has been appointed to lead the new entity, along with Teresa Resch, who joins from her previous role as vice president of basketball operations with the Raptors.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a class=\"single-post-ad\" href=\"https:\/\/fanatics.93n6tx.net\/VyKmzJ\"><br \/>\n     <\/a>        <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kilmer Sports Inc., led by Toronto billionaire Larry Tanenbaum, secured an expansion franchise with the WNBA, according to multiple reports. The team will bring the number of franchises in the league to 14 after the owners of the NBA\u2019s Golden State Warriors received an expansion squad last October. Here\u2019s a breakdown of the Toronto announcement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19871,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[175],"tags":[4428,4429,316,525],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19870"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19870"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19872,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19870\/revisions\/19872"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}