The Toronto Tempo are the newest franchise in the WNBA and the first WNBA team in Canada — and the first based anywhere outside the United States. They are playing their inaugural season in 2026, tipping off in front of passionate crowds at the Coca-Cola Coliseum at Exhibition Place in Toronto. There are no decades of history here, no retired numbers and no championship banners. Instead there is something rarer: a franchise writing its very first chapter in real time. This is the story of how the Tempo launched, the people building the team, and why the arrival of Canada's first WNBA team is such a milestone.
To understand the Tempo, you have to start with the moment Canada finally got its own WNBA team. For years one of the world's biggest basketball markets had no women's professional franchise; the Tempo changed that, and the response was immediate and overwhelming.
The Tempo are owned by Larry Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports Ventures, and they were created as a brand-new expansion club rather than a relocation. Everything — the name, the Borealis Blue and Tempo Bordeaux identity, the front office, the roster — was built from a blank page. Awarded to Toronto and tipping off in 2026, the franchise represents the league's confidence that the country would embrace women's basketball in a big way. It has.
Even before a single game was played, the Tempo shattered records. The team announced the most season-ticket deposits in WNBA history, selling tens of thousands of seats and forcing a waiting list. That demand has carried into the inaugural season, with fans packing the Coca-Cola Coliseum and embracing the team across the country. For a first-year franchise, it is an extraordinary show of support — proof that Canada had been waiting for exactly this.
Every expansion team needs a way to assemble its first roster, and for the Tempo that meant a careful mix of the WNBA Expansion Draft, free agency and the college draft. The front office set out to build a competitive, watchable team from day one rather than a roster of placeholders. The result is a thoughtful blend of established professionals, international talent and players hungry for a bigger role. It is the first concrete step in turning an idea into a team, and it lays the foundation for everything to come.
No figure is more central to the Tempo's opening chapter than Sandy Brondello, hired as the franchise's first-ever head coach. A two-time WNBA champion head coach and one of the most respected tacticians in the game, Brondello brings instant credibility to a brand-new club. She steps in with the chance to define a team's identity from nothing, emphasizing pace, competitiveness and accountability while setting the tone for a group still learning to play together. As the first name in the franchise's record book, she will always be part of its origin story.
If the inaugural roster has early faces, they are Marina Mabrey and Kia Nurse. Mabrey is a proven WNBA scorer and three-point shooter who gives the Tempo an experienced offensive engine. Nurse, a guard from Hamilton, Ontario and a fixture of the Canadian national team, is exactly the kind of homegrown star Canada's first WNBA team was made for — a genuine hometown hero whose leadership and connection to local fans make her a natural symbol of the franchise.
Around them, the Tempo have assembled a genuinely intriguing first roster through the expansion draft, free agency and the college draft. Defensive guard Brittney Sykes sets the tone with relentless on-ball pressure; Belgian playmaker Julie Allemand runs the offense; forwards Nyara Sabally and Isabelle Harrison add size and scoring; center Temi Fagbenle anchors the paint; and young UCLA guard Kiki Rice represents the future. It is a roster with no history to lean on, which makes every game feel like a building block.
Part of what makes the Tempo special is where they play. Coca-Cola Coliseum, the team's home at Exhibition Place on Toronto's western waterfront, has become one of the loudest and most colorful environments in the WNBA from the very first home game. With a capacity of roughly 8,500, the intimate building fills with fans in Borealis Blue and Tempo Bordeaux, and the Tempo's sellout crowds give the team a genuine home-court advantage as a brand-new club.
That setting has helped the Tempo cultivate a reputation as an inclusive, community-focused team. The arena is easily reached by GO Transit to Exhibition GO or the 509 and 511 streetcars from downtown and Union Station, making it accessible from across the Greater Toronto Area. A welcoming, festive atmosphere has turned game nights into a genuine community event. If you want to know exactly what seats cost, our guide to Toronto Tempo ticket prices lays it all out.
It is impossible to talk about the Tempo without acknowledging the broader surge in women's basketball. Television ratings, attendance and national attention have all climbed dramatically in recent years, and the league chose to expand into Canada at exactly the right moment. The Tempo, with passionate ownership, a marketable roster and a huge new international market, instantly became one of the league's most visible new stories.
This matters for fans because it raises the stakes of every game. The talent level across the WNBA has never been higher, the competition is fierce, and a trip to the Coca-Cola Coliseum now means watching some of the best players in the world at the peak of the sport's popularity. For a franchise with no history at all, the present era is the entire story — and it is being written one game at a time.
Unlike a settled veteran team, the Tempo are at the very beginning of their journey, and understanding that helps explain the team you see on the floor.
Because WNBA rosters turn over quickly from year to year, it is best to think of the Tempo in terms of this identity rather than a fixed lineup. The constant is a brand-new franchise determined to earn its place in the league.
The thread running through everything the Tempo do is the simple fact that they are starting from zero. There are no banners to live up to and no retired legends to honor — only the chance to create all of that from scratch. The team plays with the energy of a franchise that knows every game is part of its founding story. As the WNBA continues its surge in popularity, the Tempo sit in a remarkable position: a blank slate in one of the country's biggest markets, backed by ambitious ownership and a passionate fan base.
The best way to appreciate it all is to see a game in person. The WNBA season runs roughly May through October, and tickets remain a tremendous value — our guide to Toronto Tempo ticket prices breaks down every seating option. If you are also a fan of the men's game, compare the franchises with our look at Toronto Raptors legends, and for planning a trip to either arena, see how to attend a game in Toronto. You will find even more guides on the BasketCanada blog.
Beyond the professional roster, the Tempo have quickly become a focal point for women's basketball across the country. Ontario and Canada as a whole have a deep, growing basketball culture at the high school and college levels, and a thriving WNBA franchise gives young players a tangible example of where the game can lead. The team's arrival connects that local pipeline to the highest level of the sport, and game nights often draw youth teams, school groups and aspiring players who get to see professional role models up close for the first time in their own country.
This community role is part of what makes the franchise more than the sum of its wins and losses. The Tempo are already woven into the fabric of the Greater Toronto Area's sports scene, sitting alongside the Raptors as one of the two professional basketball teams that make Toronto such a strong basketball market. For fans, supporting the Tempo means being part of a movement that is reshaping the profile of women's sports across Canada.
The future looks bright. As the WNBA continues to expand its reach and the league's stars become household names, a brand-new franchise with passionate ownership and a committed fan base is well placed to grow. Each new season in Toronto adds to a story that is only just beginning, and the fans who show up now are watching the very first era of Tempo basketball take shape in real time. In short, the Toronto Tempo are not a team with a storied past but a franchise with one of the most exciting presents in the league — and that is exactly what makes following them so rewarding.
No. The Tempo are a brand-new expansion team playing their inaugural season in 2026, so they have not won a WNBA Championship and have no earlier history under another name. As the first WNBA franchise in Canada, the team is just beginning to build its story.
With no history yet, the players to watch in the inaugural season are veterans like Marina Mabrey and hometown hero Kia Nurse, guided by two-time champion head coach Sandy Brondello. As the roster grows, the list of key figures will grow with it.
The Tempo play at Coca-Cola Coliseum at Exhibition Place on Toronto's western waterfront — a separate venue from the Raptors' downtown home. Sellout crowds in Borealis Blue and Tempo Bordeaux have made it one of the most electric atmospheres in the WNBA.
The WNBA season runs roughly from May through October, and Tempo tickets are among the most affordable in pro sports — often starting around $15. See our full Toronto Tempo ticket prices guide and our overview of attending a game in Toronto to plan your visit.
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