Toronto Tempo breaks WNBA regular-season attendance record in Montreal
The expansion franchise drew 20,996 fans to the Bell Centre on Friday, July 10, surpassing the previous record set in 2024.
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The Toronto Tempo drew 20,996 fans to the Bell Centre on Friday, July 10, setting a new WNBA regular-season attendance record. The turnout surpassed the previous record of 20,711, set during a Washington Mystics game against the Indiana Fever on September 19, 2024.
The sold-out crowd marked the Tempo's inaugural game in Montreal as part of the franchise's Cross-Canada Series, which is bringing Canada's only WNBA team beyond Toronto during its inaugural season. The series is scheduled to return to Montreal for a second game on Sunday, July 12, and will later take the team to Vancouver.
Dallas won the matchup 108–95, with the Wings pulling away in the fourth quarter after Toronto led 56–52 at halftime. Marina Mabrey led the Tempo with 34 points, connecting on six of nine three-point attempts, while Laura Juskaite added 25 points. Dallas's Paige Bueckers also finished with 34 points, along with six rebounds and six assists.
The loss dropped Toronto to a 9–13 record and extended the team's losing streak to four games. Despite the result, fans on social media celebrated the record-breaking crowd as validation for professional women's basketball in Canada. "Canada deserved women's basketball," one Instagram commenter wrote, while others noted the milestone came during the expansion team's first season.
