Did the WNBA accidentally leak the nickname and logo of its Toronto franchise?
Myles Dichter | for CBC Sports | Posted: December 4, 2024 8:53 PM | Last Updated: December 4
Toronto Tempo was included in drop-down menu on the league’s website on Tuesday
After months of speculation, Toronto's WNBA expansion team may finally have a nickname: the Toronto Tempo.
Screenshots circulated on social media on Tuesday night of a drop-down menu on the league's website referring to the club as the Tempo, but there's been no official word.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, the team name — which at one point was deleted from WNBA.com — briefly resurfaced next to a logo before being deleted again.
Earlier Wednesday, sportslogos.net — a publication that covers professional sports team branding — posted images of a logo, saying it had been leaked to them by an "official WNBA source." The logo matches the one posted on WNBA.com.
The branding features a light blue and white colourway. The logo is a T encircled by a basketball.
CBC Sports reached out to the team and a PR firm it works with for comment.
Toronto is set to begin play in the WNBA in 2026 out of Coca-Cola Coliseum as the league grows from 12 to 15 franchises. The Golden State Valkyries will play their inaugural season in 2025 before Portland joins alongside Toronto the following year.
In November, a team official told CBC Sports a name would "likely" be revealed "early in the new year."
A January announcement would place Toronto well ahead of Golden State's timeline. The Valkyries were introduced in May — one year before their first game.
Toronto has endeavoured to be open about its branding throughout the process. It's produced a behind-the-scenes podcast and regularly shared on Instagram team names that were eliminated — such as the Traffic, Towers and 6ixers.
A website was also set up for fans to submit suggestions for the team's identity, nickname, colours and branding.
If the nickname is indeed Tempo, it would make Toronto the only professional North American team with the moniker.
Toronto's PWHL team recently began play as the Sceptres with blue and yellow colouring.