The 14th WNBA team officially has a name and logo: Meet the Toronto Tempo.
On Thursday, the previously unnamed Toronto franchise unveiled its name and brand identity, doing so less than two days after it leaked on the WNBA’s official website. As they prepare to debut for the start of the 2026 season, they will be known as the Tempo, a nod, according to the Tempo’s release, to “the rhythm of our city, our country, and the game of basketball.”
“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,” team president Teresa Resch said in a statement. “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.”
Resch told the Canadian Press that the Tempo’s primary colors will be light blue and red, an effort to choose a scheme familiar to Canada’s color palette.
The Tempo launched a “name your team” program that saw more than 10,000 people weigh in with suggestions. They said the brand was informed by the inputs of those suggestions, as well as feedback from a community council.
Among the design elements in the logo and brand identity, the Tempo noted the following:
- The name was designed to work in both French and English, as Tempo is the same in each language
- Tempo reflects their desired values, with the logo’s forward-leaning motion representing “the team’s desire for progress.”
- 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 on Tuesday night, when fans noticed the “Toronto Tempo” as part of a dropdown menu on the WNBA’s website. Screenshots started circulating online and though the name was removed from the menu within minutes, it was enough to fuel speculation that Tempo would be the eventual moniker.
Resch told the Canadian Press that the franchise would have loved to have merchandise ready to roll out with the name, but that “we’re still really excited to share the name and logo and colors.”
The team did not say when merchandise would be available.
The WNBA awarded Toronto a franchise last May, making it the league’s first outside of the United States. The league has played exhibition games in Canada in the past two seasons, including in Toronto in 2023. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert called the exhibition a “seminal moment” for the league in its desire to expand a global platform.
The franchise will begin play in May 2026 and initially use the 8,000-seat Coca-Cola Coliseum. Led by Toronto billionaire Larry Tanenbaum’s Kilmer Sports Venture, it 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.
The Tempo will add to the list of Toronto’s professional women’s sports franchises. The city is home to a professional women’s hockey team (the Toronto Sceptres) and is scheduled to have a Division I pro soccer franchise in 2025 in a new Canadian league, Project 8. Toronto has been home to the NBA’s Raptors since 1995, the league’s lone team in Canada.
The WNBA’s 15th franchise will be based in Portland, but it is still unnamed. The WNBA also intends to add a 16th team by the start of 2028, and numerous cities have expressed public interest in that franchise.
The 13th franchise, the Golden State Valkyries, will take part in an expansion draft Friday.
Required reading
- WNBA announces expansion team in Portland, league’s 15th franchise
- WNBA expansion headed for 16 teams, commissioner says. Portland, Toronto, Philly options
(Photo: Courtesy Toronto Tempo)
