Open this photo in gallery:
The Toronto Tempo will play a pair of games in Montreal this weekend, where they’re hoping a sold out Bell Centre will set an attendance record.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
The Toronto Tempo will make their first-ever visit to Montreal this weekend, putting live WNBA basketball before a whole new audience, with a realistic shot at setting an attendance record.
Canada’s new expansion club will play two of their home games at Montreal’s Bell Centre against a pair of the WNBA’s most star-studded teams. On Friday they meet Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings, and on Sunday face the New York Liberty, led by Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu.
The Tempo get to measure how strong the team’s national fan base really is, and take a shot at league history.
Because the capacity at Montreal’s Bell Centre is over 22,000, a full house could surpass the WNBA’s high mark, and even the broader attendance benchmark for women’s professional hoops.
The current WNBA regular-season attendance record is 20,711 set in 2024 by the Washington Mystics at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
Marina Mabrey’s breakout season makes her the Tempo’s first-ever all-star
It could also eclipse the playoff attendance record of 22,076 – a mark set at two deciding WNBA finals Game 5s, both at the Palace of Auburn Hills — in 2003 between the Detroit Shock and Los Angeles Sparks, and in 2007 between the Shock and Phoenix Mercury.
The all-time regular season attendance record for professional women’s basketball – 21,490 fans – was just set in January 2026 when Unrivaled (an off-season 3×3 league featuring WNBA stars) made a tour stop at Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena. Like Montreal, that Philadelphia stop was a special visit to a market hungry to see women’s hoops.
Montreal is known to support women’s sports. The world attendance record for a women’s pro hockey game (21,105) was set at Bell Centre in 2024, between the PWHL’s Montreal Victoire and Toronto Sceptres.
To grow the team’s fanbase and spread the feeling that it belongs to all of Canada, the Tempo will maximize its weekend in Montreal. They’ll hold Tempo Live, a free day-long fan festival at the Bell Centre on Saturday, including basketball clinics, a 3×3 tournament, a chance to meet the coach, general manager and select players, and other entertainment.
Open this photo in gallery:
Tempo guard Marina Mabrey (3) was named a WNBA all-star this week. She’ll lead a hobbled Tempo team into its first Cross Canada Series, where they hope to grow the WNBA across the country.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
In late August, the Tempo will continue the second leg of its Cross Canada Series, playing two of its league games at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, against the Portland Fire and WNBA’s reigning champs, the Las Vegas Aces.
“I think it’s really special that this organization, being the first of its kind globally, first international team for the WNBA, first WNBA team in Canada, go into these cities and create this place of belonging,” said Tempo guard Kia Nurse, also a Canadian.
“You can look out on the court and see somebody that looks like you and resonate with them, resonate with their story.”
Still, the Montreal trip comes at a tough time for the Tempo (9-12), who are battling through injuries. They’ve been without standout rookie Kiki Rice (ankle), star backcourt leader Brittney Sykes (left foot), and centre Temi Fagbenle (concussion protocol). On Wednesday against the Golden State Valkyries, centre Nyara Sabally left the game with a knee injury.
With their roster depleted and several remaining players pressed to play extended minutes, the Tempo have lost four of their last five games. On Thursday, the team signed a new centre to a seven-day hardship contract, to help ease the depth emergency.
They added 6-foot-4 Kayla Alexander, a two-time Canadian Olympian who has been playing in Europe after eight seasons in the WNBA. She can help address the team’s need for rim protection, rebounding, and interior presence.
