WNBA returning to Canada with pre-season game in Edmonton amid Toronto expansion reports

The WNBA will play a pre-season game in Canada for the second consecutive year with the Los Angeles Sparks facing the Seattle Storm on May 5 in Edmonton.

The inaugural WNBA Canada Game last season saw the Chicago Sky beat the Minnesota Lynx in front of a sold out crowd in Toronto. That pre-season game set records for broadcast viewership, attendance and merchandise sales in Canada.

Toronto is one of the cities that is under consideration for WNBA expansion if the right ownership group can be found. CBC Sports' Shireen Ahmed recently reported that Larry Tanenbaum, a part-owner of sports giant MLSE, is pursuing a team through his holding company, the Kilmer Group.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert stated on a conference call that Golden State would be the only expansion team for 2025, but that they were hoping for more franchises for the 2026 season.

"We continue to spend a lot of time to engage with several interested owners in a number of markets," she said. "I have no news to report at this time. Any teams would begin in 2026 and beyond."

The four-time champion Seattle Storm have had a big off-season, adding free agents Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith to a talented group that includes Ezi Magbegor and Jewell Loyd. Ogwumike had spent her entire career with the Sparks before she left as a free agent this year.

"One of Canada's greatest basketball players, Sparks guard Kia Nurse, is returning to play in front of her Canadian fans as my Los Angeles Sparks take on the Seattle Storm in this year's WNBA Canada Game," Los Angeles Sparks co-owner Magic Johnson said in a statement.

This will be the fourth WNBA pre-season game outside of the U.S. There were also games in Manchester, England (2011) and Monterrey, Mexico (2004).

Engelbert said that the league would consider playing a regular-season game outside of the U.S., although it would have to be at the right time, most likely not an Olympic year.

"It's something we're thinking about for the future," she said. "We'll be looking at it in years we don't have international competitions to interrupt the season."

Engelbert said that Edmonton was a logical choice to host the second WNBA Canada Game because of the city's rich sporting history, with the NHL's Oilers and CFL's Elks having passionate support, and the historical success of the Edmonton Grads, an amateur women's basketball team that maintained an astonishing 95 per cent winning percentage from 1915 to 1940.

She also pointed to the success of an NBA exhibition game between the Toronto Raptors and Utah Jazz in 2022 as an indicator of how successful a pro basketball game in Edmonton could be.

"They sold out in eight minutes at Rogers Place," said Engelbert. "I think the venue proved to be fantastic and the fan base continues to grow there.

"We'll continue to look at other cities as well, but certainly was I impressed with everything Edmonton has to offer."

Toronto expansion bid in works

Kilmer Sports Venture appointed longtime European soccer executive Ivan Gazidis to lead the new organization on Tuesday. The venture will look for sports and entertainment opportunities around the world. Gazidis has served as CEO for both AC Milan and Arsenal and was one of the founders of Major League Soccer.

Media reports say that Teresa Resch, the former Raptors vice-president of basketball operations and player development, will be a part of the initiative.

The Golden State Warriors were awarded a WNBA franchise for 2025 back in October, the first expansion team since 2008 and the 13th team in the league. Engelbert clarified in her video conference that the new San Francisco-area team will be the only addition to the WNBA in 2025 and that earliest a team could be awarded to Toronto — or anywhere — is in 2026.

"No specific timeline, because as soon as I give a timeline and things obviously change, it becomes kind of yesterday's news," said Engelbert. "I've always said I think about 18 months out is when you need to essentially finalize things because you have to start working on a brand, Nike has to start to produce uniforms, things like that."