CIBC becomes latest founding partner of WNBA expansion side Toronto Tempo

A ball is displayed with the name of the new general manager of the WNBA Toronto Tempo team during an event announcing Wright Rogers as the general manager of the WNBA Toronto Tempo team in Toronto, Thursday, February 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

TORONTO — CIBC has become a founding partner of the WNBA-expansion Toronto Tempo.

CIBC will become the basketball team’s official bank and appear on team jerseys when the Tempo begin play in 2026. The bank joins Sephora Canada, the franchise’s “official beauty partner,” as a founding partner.

CIBC is also introducing “Champions of Ambition,” a new community program designed to “celebrate and elevate Canadians who have been changing the tempo in women’s sports and the country.”

The Tempo will begin playing at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in 2026, also hosting regular-season games in both Montreal and Vancouver.

In March, tennis star Serena Williams joined the team’s ownership group alongside Larry Tanenbaum, Chairman of Kilmer Sports Ventures.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2025