Toronto Tempo added to WNBA

FILE – Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri and WNBA Toronto team president Teresa Resch pose for a photo during a press conference announcing the city’s WNBA franchise, in Toronto on Thursday, May 23, 2024. The Toronto WNBA expansion team has a name, Tempo, and will begin play in 2026 as the league’s 14th team and is the WNBA’s first franchise outside the United States. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP, FIle)

By DOUG FEINBERG

AP Basketball Writer

The Toronto WNBA expansion team has a name — Tempo.

The Tempo will begin play in 2026 as the league’s 14th team and is the WNBA’s first franchise outside the United States. An expansion franchise in Portland will also begin play that year as well.

“Tempo is pace. It’s speed. It’s a heartbeat. And it’s what you feel when you step into the streets of this city, and in the energy of the people who call Canada home,” Tempo President Teresa Resch said. “As Canada’s WNBA team, I know the Tempo will set our own pace, move at a championship cadence, and inspire people across this country.”

The team’s name was chosen from thousands of submissions from fans across the nation and in 98 countries. It was purposefully designed to work in both French and English, creating an inclusive brand for fans across the country.

Resch said that there were a lot of good choices from the fans, including some that played off the NBA’s Toronto Raptors. One that she said probably wouldn’t have worked because of the team playing in the summer was the Polar Bears.

“It was really a fun process,” she said. “We want to be a team for all Canadian people.”

The logo’s sharp angles and curves are representative of “the dynamic nature of the team and the game.” The six lines of the logo are a nod to the five players on the court, “and the sixth player in the game: the fans.”

The name initially leaked out Tuesday night, when fans noticed the “Toronto Tempo” as part of a dropdown menu on the league’s website. It was removed from the menu within minutes.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Resch said. “Sports is unpredictable. We were able to launch this name in the way we wanted. It has incredible story. Although the date and time was not exactly how we planned.”

Merchandise for the team will be available soon.

Resch said that the next steps will come with hiring a general manager.

“That’s the next big thing to come,” she said. “Especially on the hiring side. Bringing on a great basketball mind.”

The team will initially use the 8,000-seat Coca-Cola Coliseum and the franchise already has 7,000 season ticket deposits. The franchise will eventually have its own practice facility, but will train at the University of Toronto’s Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport until it is ready.