MLSE no longer pursuing WNBA expansion team

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment is "no longer pursuing" a WNBA franchise, putting Toronto’s bid for a team "very much in question." This comes on the heels of the WNBA announcing its expansion plans to the Bay Area today. Despite the "overwhelming success of the league’s first Toronto pre-season game last spring," the MLSE board has "pulled out of the process." The expected $50M price tag "was a factor as were differences of opinion at the highest level of MLSE ownership." Without MLSE, which owns Scotiabank Arena, a practice facility and has ties to both Canadian sports networks, it will be "difficult for any outside group to put together a bid that would satisfy the WNBA" (TORONTO STAR, 10/5).