The Toronto Tempo have set a date for their first ever game.
Early Wednesday afternoon the team announced that they will play two preseason games. On April 29th, the Tempo will debut at Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto against the Connecticut Sun with tip-off set for 7:00pm ET. This will be the first game in Toronto Tempo franchise history.
Then on May 1st the Tempo will face the Minnesota Lynx and MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier on the road at the Target Center in Minneapolis, with tip-off set for 8:00pm ET. Broadcast information for both games is not yet available.
While the Tempo have been unable to draft a team due to ongoing CBA negotiations, they have hired veteran WNBA head coach Sandy Brondello to lead the team through their inaugural season. Brondello comes to Toronto following a decade of success in the WNBA, as she previously led the Phoenix Mercury (2014) and the New York Liberty (2024) to WNBA championships. Brondello is one of just two coaches all-time to win championships with multiple franchises and she currently ranks sixth all-time in career wins and games coached in the WNBA, as well as second all-time in playoff wins.
Last month, the WNBA announced the regular-season schedule, which will see the Tempo face both the Sun and the Lynx three times each. The Tempo regular season will tip-off on May 8th against the Washington Mystics.
Throughout their first ever season, the Toronto Tempo will play 44 regular season games, including 22 which will be home games. These games will be played across four venues, with 15 taking place at Coca-Cola Coliseum, three at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, two at the Bell Centre in Montreal, and two at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
The first Scotiabank Arena game will be played on June 27 against the Phoenix Mercury, followed by the Minnesota Lynx on July 30, and the last of the three will be played against the Indiana Fever on August 18.
While it’s still uncertain when the Tempo will draft their team, we can at least start counting the days until the team makes their debut.
