Latest news with #MonicaWrightRogers
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New WNBA Franchise Makes Big Announcement on Friday
New WNBA Franchise Makes Big Announcement on Friday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. While the 2025 WNBA season is rolling full speed ahead, one franchise is already building excitement for its 2026 debut. The Toronto Tempo, awarded an expansion team in December 2024, will become the 14th franchise in WNBA history and the first based outside the United States. The team will play its home games at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Advertisement In February, the Tempo named Monica Wright Rogers as their general manager. Now, they've made another major move to strengthen their front office. Ben Pickman of The Athletic reported on Friday: "Eli Horowitz, a longtime Los Angeles Sparks staffer and their current assistant GM, is taking a job at the Toronto Tempo as their AGM and SVP of basketball strategy." Horowitz brings a wealth of experience, having spent seven seasons with the Sparks as assistant general manager and vice president. He will be Toronto's new assistant general manager and senior vice president of basketball strategy. He'll work closely with Wright Rogers to oversee the team's salary cap management, basketball operations, analytics and scouting efforts. Eli Horowitz (left), shown during his time as assistant general manager of the LA Sparks, was named the new assistant GM and senior vice president of basketball strategy for the Toronto Lee-Imagn Images The team released a memo to announce Horowitz's hiring, and Wright Rogers shared her thoughts on bringing him aboard. Advertisement 'I'm thrilled to have Eli on board as we shape the Tempo into a winning WNBA franchise,' Rogers said. 'He brings impeccable credentials to our front office — elite scouting, advanced analytics, innovation around our cap strategy and a winning mindset.' She added: 'Just as important, we share core values around culture and collaboration, and a vision to build something lasting. He's the ideal partner to shape a first-class franchise for our inaugural season and beyond.' During his tenure in Los Angeles, Horowitz played a key role in bringing stars like Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson to the Sparks. Advertisement As Toronto prepares for its inaugural season, it's clear the Tempo is focused on building a strong, forward-thinking foundation from day one. Related: ESPN's Monica McNutt Makes Strong Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese Statement Related: Caitlin Clark's Behavior Toward Referee in Fever-Mystics is Turning Heads This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
Cision Canada
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Cision Canada
TORONTO TEMPO MARKS ONE YEAR TO TIP-OFF WITH IMMERSIVE TEMPO LIVE EVENT
TORONTO, May 16, 2025 /CNW/ - The countdown is on! For the first time ever, the Toronto Tempo is giving fans the chance to come together in person at Tempo LIVE, a can't-miss celebration at STACKT Market on May 24 & 25. The event kicks off a countdown to tip-off - the team is just one year away from making its WNBA debut. Tempo LIVE, presented in partnership with Destination Toronto, will feature a collection of immersive and interactive fan experiences, including: Tempo Fan Camp, presented by founding partner CIBC – the ultimate rally spot where visitors can make their own pennant flags, get Tempo airbrush tattoos, and sign a banner that will hang at future Tempo home court Coca-Cola Coliseum. The Tempo Talks Speaker Series, presented by founding partner Sephora Canada – featuring an array of conversations on the beauty of basketball culture. Scheduled speakers include General Manager of the Toronto Tempo, Monica Wright Rogers, Juno Award-winning artist, Jully Black, VP of Product of October's Very Own (OVO), Michael Kerr, and the newest addition to the Tempo ownership group – Canadian actress, writer and advocate, Lilly Singh. Merchandise pop-up shop featuring Peace Collective, Roots, and Nike. An interactive and inclusive basketball skills course called the "Tempo Drill," where fans can show off their hustle on the court to win a pair of tickets to a future Tempo game. Fans will be able to place a deposit on season tickets and memberships on-site. Deposits can also be made online at "Our fans are at the heart of this team," explains Whitney Bell, Chief Marketing Officer, Tempo Basketball Club. "There's no better way to mark a year to tip-off than by bringing that community together and letting them experience the Tempo brand in person. We can't wait to get a first taste of the passion, energy and excitement that is going to power this team into 2026 and beyond." The team is also marking a year to tip-off with the release of a :60 film centred on the concept of 'tempo' – the heartbeat of competition and the unseen force that drives the game. Set to the rhythm of our city and the pace of the game, the spot captures the unstoppable energy and diversity of a team—and a country—on the rise. Tempo LIVE is taking place on May 24 & 25, 2025, from 11:00 A.M. until 8:00 P.M. EST at STACKT Market (28 Bathurst Street, Toronto). Fans can sign up for more information about the event and RSVP to panels at Entry will be subject to capacity. While registering doesn't secure a spot, registrants will be kept close to event details as they unfold. About Toronto Tempo In May 2024, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced its expansion into Canada by awarding Toronto an expansion team, the league's first outside the United States. The new team, owned by Kilmer Sports Ventures, will begin play in the 2026 season as the WNBA's 14th franchise. Sephora Canada and CIBC are the team's first announced founding partners. Larry Tanenbaum, Chairman of Kilmer Sports Ventures and a 30-year veteran of building championship-caliber teams, is also Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors and Chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NBA's Toronto Raptors, NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, MLS' Toronto FC and other professional sports franchises. Under his leadership, the Raptors won their first NBA championship in 2019.
CBC
09-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
With 1 year until the franchise tips off, WNBA's Toronto Tempo starting to come together
Toronto Tempo president Teresa Resch has one guarantee: her team will have jerseys in time for tip-off next season. "That's what I can 100 per cent commit to. Anything else, I would be lying," Resch said in a recent conversation with CBC Sports. Yet as preparations for Canada's first WNBA team intensify with one year until its debut, Resch and her growing crew have already had to place their order for on-court merchandise — practice gear, bench wear, coaching attire and the like. Even without a jersey design. "We don't have any idea who our coach is going to be, or any of our players. The deadlines don't change for us. So we had to place that order," Resch said. The 2025 WNBA season begins May 16. For Toronto, it also serves as the unofficial one year out marker. And while roots have been planted for the franchise — a president, general manager, nickname and logo being the most notable — there's still plenty left to do before the Tempo play basketball. To honour the occasion, the team will hold what it is billing as its first live event — a meet and greet in downtown Toronto May 24-25. There are plans to hold similar public events across Canada throughout the season. In a year from now, however, there will be basketball to be played. Resch said she has still not yet received any indication from the league on what the expansion draft might look like when the Tempo enter alongside an expansion sister in Portland. WATCH | Meet Tempo GM Monica Wright Rogers: Meet Monica Wright Rogers, the GM of the WNBA's newest team, the Toronto Tempo 2 months ago Duration 12:57 The newly hired Tempo general manager talks goals for the 2026 WNBA season and how she plans to build a championship-winning team. She also wouldn't address the collective bargaining agreement, which expires after this season and represents the one anvil that could blow up the Tempo's inaugural season. Regardless of how that all plays out, the free-agent class is set to be historic. "We know that there is a very large number of players [whose] the contracts will expire at end of the season and we look forward to engaging with and talking to those players about potentially being in Toronto," Resch said. In the meantime, GM Monica Wright Rogers has already hit the road at college and pre-season games to scout potential Tempo targets. Resch said she hasn't fully set her own schedule for the season, but she plans to be in Vancouver for the first-ever regular-season WNBA game in Canada on Aug. 15 as well as Indiana for all-star weekend. Otherwise, Resch just wants to consume lots of basketball. "Obviously we're scouting as well, like understanding what's happening in the league, how the [expansion Golden State] Valkyries are [doing], some of the things that are working well for them hopefully we can implement ourselves and also learn from anything that kind of goes sideways," Resch said. She also hopes to gain knowledge off the court. "This is really the first season that we'll have people dedicated to the Tempo so that we can actually be really focused on those learnings. So there's a lot we can learn from the business side. Going to the games, understanding the in-arena experiences as well as some of the back end," Resch said. "What's incredible about the W is it is a great community and there's a lot of best practices shared." Behind the scenes, the Tempo team has grown to 18 people, and things are beginning to accelerate due to the increased personnel. The overall feeling among the Tempo's first dozen-and-a-half hires? Excitement. "I mean, think about your own life when you're starting something new. And there's just a lot of excitement because we all go into something feeling very positive, right? We know that it's not gonna be an easy journey, but we're up for the challenge and excited about it. There's a lot of momentum, a lot of positivity, good vibes every day. So it's nice to have that," Resch said. The budding group has helped transform the Tempo into an operational business — a definite step forward from when year ago when Resch and CFO Patrick Lee were the team's first hires. Still, it is early stages. The Tempo continue to implement back-end business software like CRM and ERP systems, among other "acronyms that I had no idea what they stood for six months ago," Resch said with a laugh. The goal is short-term pain for long-term gain. "We'll be able to find out more about our fan base, we'll be able to engage with them in a more personalized way. We'll be able to have financial documents that aren't so manual so we can track our progress and make sure we're running a really great business," Resch said. Elsewhere, there continue to be job postings on LinkedIn to join the Tempo, including one for a director of basketball operations to work side-by-side with Wright Rogers. The team also keeps adding to its ownership group, with Xero CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy recently joining Larry Tanenbaum and Serena Williams. Resch said another addition will be announced soon. And so, slowly but surely, things are coming together for the Tempo — and the group is learning together. "You're building that strategy from scratch, which is a really great opportunity, but also means you don't have historicals to base it on. You have some market research and things across the league, but nothing that has actually happened in your market for your team before," Resch said.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Opportunity of a lifetime': New GM Wright Rogers ready to take charge of WNBA's Toronto Tempo
Monica Wright Rogers has merely put 10 toes on the ground in Toronto to begin her role as general manager of the WNBA's expansion Tempo, but she can already feel the support of the city behind her. Her hiring solidifies her as the 12th member of Canada's first-ever and only WNBA team franchise. "Once I stepped foot in this city — despite the snow — that excitement has exponentially increased in just feeling the appetite and excitement from fans and everyone in the sports world here, we have no shortage of support," Wright Rogers said in an interview with CBC Sports. Wright Rogers, 36, arrives on the Canadian basketball scene with an impressive resume behind her: seven seasons as a point guard in the WNBA, two championship titles with the Minnesota Lynx, and in 2023, she became assistant general manager for the Phoenix Mercury. Now, she hits the ground running with the Tempo, with the tasks lying immediately ahead of her include hiring a head coach and securing a roster of players for the first season in 2026. While the San Antonio, Texas native didn't share details on any potential head-coaching candidates, she "feels good about where things are at," more than a year out from the first tip-off. "There's a lot of unknown with the future of this league, the upcoming CBA [Collective Bargaining Agreement], the unprecedented amount of free agents and just a lot of talent coming into this league from international ranks, the NCAA ranks and beyond," Wright Rogers said. Just ahead of the 2026 season, 21 league all stars will be free agents. This includes Canada's Kia Nurse, back-to-back WNBA champion Kelsey Plum, and Las Vegas Ace star A'Ja Wilson, who was named tournament MVP at the Paris 2024 Olympics for her contributions to Team USA's gold medal. "I'm really excited to sign our first player," Wright Rogers said. "In terms of our timeline, we've got time to pull the best brains together and strategize about how we want to approach this unprecedented time in the WNBA and women's sports as a whole." WATCH | Wright Rogers talks goals for 2026 season: Unparalleled WNBA success In the 2024 season, the success of the WNBA was unparalleled, clocking the most-ever watched regular-season games across ESPN platforms, the highest total attendance of games in 22 years, and record number sales in WNBA merchandise sales. The launch of Canada's first WNBA team will be another milestone for basketball in Canada in 2026, but to Wright Rogers, the WNBA has always deserved all the flowers. "I've been in it so long that I've always just loved it. The same enthusiasm everyone has, I've had it this entire time, my whole life," she said. "The WNBA has always had talent and I think we're at a point in time where we see it taking strides, and we see the investment… I'm definitely on board and very excited about this ride." As for her plans with Tempo? Simply to win. With two chips under her belt, having won championship titles with the Minnesota Lynx in 2011 and 2013, Wright Rogers said she knows what it takes to build a winning culture. "I was very early on with the Lynx in their dynasty in the early stages and so being a part of the build of a championship culture, a championship team… I pull from that every day," she said. "I'm hoping to make sure that that is ingrained into the culture of this franchise as well." And as Wright Rogers continues to acclimate to Toronto (she says her family has been loving the vast food scene so far), she's excited to get to work and build this franchise from the ground up. "This is an opportunity of a lifetime… to lay the foundation for great culture and one that is very thoughtful and reflective of not just Toronto, but Canada's basketball, women's basketball culture."
CBC
27-02-2025
- Sport
- CBC
'Opportunity of a lifetime': New GM Wright Rogers ready to take charge of WNBA's Toronto Tempo
Monica Wright Rogers has merely put 10 toes on the ground in Toronto to begin her role as general manager of the WNBA's expansion Tempo, but she can already feel the support of the city behind her. Her hiring solidifies her as the 12th member of Canada's first-ever and only WNBA team franchise. "Once I stepped foot in this city — despite the snow — that excitement has exponentially increased in just feeling the appetite and excitement from fans and everyone in the sports world here, we have no shortage of support," Wright Rogers said in an interview with CBC Sports. Wright Rogers, 36, arrives on the Canadian basketball scene with an impressive resume behind her: seven seasons as a point guard in the WNBA, two championship titles with the Minnesota Lynx, and in 2023, she became assistant general manager for the Phoenix Mercury. Now, she hits the ground running with the Tempo, with the tasks lying immediately ahead of her include hiring a head coach and securing a roster of players for the first season in 2026. While the San Antonio, Texas native didn't share details on any potential head-coaching candidates, she "feels good about where things are at," more than a year out from the first tip-off. "There's a lot of unknown with the future of this league, the upcoming CBA [Collective Bargaining Agreement], the unprecedented amount of free agents and just a lot of talent coming into this league from international ranks, the NCAA ranks and beyond," Wright Rogers said. Just ahead of the 2026 season, 21 league all stars will be free agents. This includes Canada's Kia Nurse, back-to-back WNBA champion Kelsey Plum, and Las Vegas Ace star A'Ja Wilson, who was named tournament MVP at the Paris 2024 Olympics for her contributions to Team USA's gold medal. "I'm really excited to sign our first player," Wright Rogers said. "In terms of our timeline, we've got time to pull the best brains together and strategize about how we want to approach this unprecedented time in the WNBA and women's sports as a whole." WATCH | Wright Rogers talks goals for 2026 season: Monica Wright Rogers relishes challenge of building Toronto's WNBA 1st-ever franchise 9 minutes ago Duration 0:41 Unparalleled WNBA success In the 2024 season, the success of the WNBA was unparalleled, clocking the most-ever watched regular-season games across ESPN platforms, the highest total attendance of games in 22 years, and record number sales in WNBA merchandise sales. The launch of Canada's first WNBA team will be another milestone for basketball in Canada in 2026, but to Wright Rogers, the WNBA has always deserved all the flowers. "I've been in it so long that I've always just loved it. The same enthusiasm everyone has, I've had it this entire time, my whole life," she said. "The WNBA has always had talent and I think we're at a point in time where we see it taking strides, and we see the investment… I'm definitely on board and very excited about this ride." As for her plans with Tempo? Simply to win. With two chips under her belt, having won championship titles with the Minnesota Lynx in 2011 and 2013, Wright Rogers said she knows what it takes to build a winning culture. "I was very early on with the Lynx in their dynasty in the early stages and so being a part of the build of a championship culture, a championship team… I pull from that every day," she said. "I'm hoping to make sure that that is ingrained into the culture of this franchise as well." And as Wright Rogers continues to acclimate to Toronto (she says her family has been loving the vast food scene so far), she's excited to get to work and build this franchise from the ground up. "This is an opportunity of a lifetime… to lay the foundation for great culture and one that is very thoughtful and reflective of not just Toronto, but Canada's basketball, women's basketball culture."
