Women’s professional basketball history will be made on August 15 when the Dream of Atlanta and the Seattle Storm play a regular season game in Vancouver, British Columbia, marking the first regular season game WNBA gambling outside the United States.
“As we prepare to establish permanent roots in Canada with a Toronto franchise, this game and our year-round engagement efforts are a nod to the incredible momentum around women’s basketball in Canada ” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement Tuesday.
The WNBA awarded Toronto a franchise last May, making it the league’s first outside the United States. This franchise… officially named Toronto Tempo – will start playing in May 2026.
The WNBA has played exhibition games in Canada over the past two seasons, including in Toronto in 2023 and Edmonton in 2024. Both games were sold out. The Vancouver game will be the fifth WNBA game played outside the United States in league history. The WNBA played preseason games in Monterrey, Mexico (2004) and Manchester, England (2011).
International matches have long been a way for professional leagues to expand their audience. THE NFL East the most notable example as the league played five international games in 2024, including the NFL’s first-ever game in South America, a 34-29 Philadelphia victory over Green Bay in São Paulo, Brazil, in Week 1.
The Storm, given their relative proximity to Vancouver, makes sense as one of the teams. The league said ticket information, broadcast details and game start time will be announced in the coming months. Fans can sign up to be notified of access to pre-sale tickets on WNBACanadaGame.com. The match will be played at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
Although the WNBA is starting a team in Toronto, the Tempo has said it hopes to be a franchise that represents the entire country. Team president Teresa Resch said the Tempo’s colors will be light blue and red, an effort to choose a scheme familiar to Canada’s color palette. The word “Tempo” is the same in English and French, a nod to the country’s main languages. Owner Larry Tannenbaum previously said that while the franchise will be based in Toronto, it will also play in Vancouver and Montreal.
Both teams in the August competition feature a Canadian: Dream forward Laeticia Amiherewho is originally from Ontario.
The Storm will attempt to make the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 seasons. Atlanta, led by first-year coach Karl Smesko, will seek a third straight playoff berth for the first time since 2012-14.
Next season will be a big one for the WNBA as new media partners NBC and Amazon join Disney/ESPN in a long-term rights deal. The league hopes to expand on its record in 2024 following massive interest in a rookie class led by IndianaIt is Caitlin Clarkas well as established stars such as A’Ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart helping to set audience records.
A total of 32 WNBA television windows exceeded 1 million viewers during the 2024 season, including the WNBA Draft.
This article was originally published in Athletics.
Seattle Storm, Atlanta Dream, WNBA, Sports Business
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