Toronto Tempo add to ownership group, 2 regular-season games in Montreal

Even before Toronto was awarded an WNBA franchise, Geoff Molson wanted to get into the business of women's basketball.

The co-owner of the Montreal Canadiens and Larry Tanenbaum, co-owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, had discussed the possibility of bringing the WNBA to Canada years ago. When Tanenbaum's Kilmer Group had its bid for a team approved in May of 2024, Molson was one of the first people he called.

"Even though we compete on the ice, we're very close with Larry Tanenbaum and the MLSE organization," Molson told The Canadian Press. "We talked about the WNBA and how it's performing and growing and how important it would be to get a team to Canada.

"Larry took the lead knowing full well that we were very interested and when he finally, got around to getting his bid approved he called me and wanted to make sure that the Montreal market was represented and so we gladly invested in this venture with the Tempo and we're excited about it."

Molson and fellow Groupe CH executive France Margaret Belanger officially joined the Toronto Tempo's ownership group on Tuesday as the WNBA team also announced it will have two of its regular-season games in Montreal in its inaugural 2026 campaign.

The Molson family owns Groupe CH, whose primary business is the NHL's Canadiens but includes the American Hockey League's Laval Rocket and running venues like Bell Centre in downtown Montreal.

Molson is Groupe CH's president and chief executive officer while Belanger is its president of sports and entertainment. Kilmer Group is the majority stakeholder in the Tempo, but the ownership group also includes tennis superstar Serena Williams, comedian Lilly Singh and technology leader Sukhinder Singh Cassidy.

Molson and Belanger say basketball is