Report: Rogers Voted Against MLSE's Pursuit of WNBA Expansion to Toronto
Would a WNBA team have succeeded in Toronto?
It depends on who you ask. The thousands of fans who packed Scotiabank Arena over the summer for a preseason game certainly showed their support for Canadian expansion. Internal investigations from Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) reportedly suggested a team would have been viable despite short-term losses, per The Toronto Star. But the possibility of WNBA expansion to Toronto came to an end when the Rogers wing of MLSE vetoed the idea, according to Richard Warnica of the Toronto Star.
Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri and Rogers chair Edward Rogers reportedly voted against “everyone else” on the MLSE board against the idea of expansion, a source told Warnica.
By all accounts, MLSE had considered purchasing an expansion team as the WNBA began looking to grow this past summer. It would have cost an expansion fee of $50 million, per Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, that could have been paid over a 10-year term.
“The Star has learned that senior MLSE staff put together an internal report arguing for more investment in women’s professional sports that was presented to the board,” Warnica wrote. “According to three sources with knowledge of the report, it laid out a case for going after a WNBA franchise.”
MLSE is comprised of three partners, Rogers Communications and Bell Communications who are equal partners with 37.5% ownership each, and Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of the organization, who owns a 25% stake.
Edward Rogers and Tanenbaum are said to have sparred over the decision not to invest in bringing a new team to Toronto, per The Star. It would have been the organization’s fifth major league team, alongside the Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Argos, and Toronto F.C.
With Toronto off the table, the WNBA initially announced expansion to Golden State and Portland. Expansion in Portland, however, is being delayed.
