Who Is Larry Tanenbaum? Everything You Need to Know About Kilmer Sports’ Chairman Who Will Lead Toronto’s WNBA Franchise

The WNBA is coming to Toronto! The women’s pro basketball league will soon commence in Toronto City, according to the latest headlines on CBC Sports. But the WNBA’s journey to Toronto was not as easy as it seems. Interestingly, it has been made possible by the consistent efforts of one man: Larry Tanenbaum.

For quite some time, Toronto’s billionaire has been vocal about his passion and wish to bring the women’s league to Toronto. It is with his fervent advocacy that his long-held wish has turned into a thrilling reality. Sounds enviable, right? But the question is: Who is this Larry Tanenbaum?

Introducing Toronto’s billionaire, aka Larry.

As the chairman of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, Larry is a minority owner of a sports company that also owns the Raptors of the NBA, Toronto FC of MLS, Toronto Marlies of the AHL, Maple Leafs of the NHL, and the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. But above all, Larry, now 79, is a big fan of the WNBA.

Being the chairman and CEO of Kilmer Group, he took on the opportunity and pursued it separately when he first heard about the prospects of a WNBA team in Toronto. And guess what? All his efforts worked, and now Toronto will be featuring its NBA team in May 2026 at the Coca-Cola Coliseum, which houses 8,000 seats. But this is just an estimate. Now, let’s learn more about the WNBA team.

WNBA’s arrival in Toronto builds excitement

Moving on, the name of this team is not yet decided. But, its arrival is confirmed. “We continue to engage in productive conversations with interested ownership groups in a number of markets but have no news to report at this time,” said a WNBA spokesperson in an exclusive interview with CBC Sports.

Notably, women’s basketball is gaining immense popularity in the USA and Canada. But as Canada does not have an official women’s basketball league, Larry was easily able to convince the WNBA to land in Toronto. Even though this would be the first time the WNBA will be located in Canada, it will be the third time the WNBA games will be played here.

Back in May 2023, WNBA preseason games were held in Toronto and in Edmonton, featuring a sold-out Scotiabank Arena. Interestingly, over 16,000 tickets were sold when the team landed in Toronto. But now the question is: Will the WNBA receive a similar response when it’s located in Toronto?