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Drake just opened up his first live music venue in Canada and he already has his sights set on his next business endeavor. Recently, the GRAMMY winner took to Instagram to announce that he's interested in owning a WNBA team.
"WNBA, I need a Toronto team," he wrote.
Drake's wish may become true in due time. According to NBC Sports, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently told reporters that "expansion is on the horizon."
“The data looks like it’s going to read out some interesting information for us to start having exploratory discussions with certain cities,” Engelbert said, according to NBC Sports.
“Make sure that we can find great ownership groups to support a WNBA team and great fan bases. So that’s why I think looking at how those cities are already supporting the WNBA, whether it’s viewership, merch sales or other things or whether they’re supporting women’s sports or women’s college basketball are great indicators of how it would get supported if a WNBA team were to go in that market.”
Engelbert may not have listed any cities, but Bet MGM has already identified Nashville, Toronto, Philadelphia and San Francisco as the leading candidates to land a WNBA team. With that said, the league has not indicated when it will make a decision on where it will place its next few teams.
Talks of expansion come after the league wrapped up its 25th season. Not only did Candace Parker help the Chicago Sky win their first championship, but she and several other stars helped raised the overall profile of the league. Renee Montgomery has transitioned from being a star on the floor to becoming a part of the Atlanta Dream's ownership group. Meanwhile, Liz Cambage has appeared on HBO's The Shop and collaborated with Rihanna's Fenty. Above all else, the play on the court has continued to elevate with the introduction of new stars like Sabrina Ionescu and Michaela Onyenwere along with veterans like Parker, Jonquel Jones and Kelsey Plum. The overall effort to take the WNBA to new heights has helped land partnerships with Amazon and Google. Just Women Sports also reports that viewership is up 51% and merchandise sales are up by 50%. Wherever the WNBA goes next, the support will surely be there.
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