WNBA will host 2nd preseason game in Canada as expansion to country gains steam WSOC TV [Video]

The WNBA will host a preseason game in Canada for the second consecutive season while it continues its expansion quest that could lead it back to the country full time.

The Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm will play at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, on May 5 ahead of the WNBA’s 28th season, the league announced Thursday. It will be the fourth preseason game held outside the United States after Toronto; Manchester, England, in 2011; and Monterrey, Mexico, in 2004 in the WNBA’s road toward globalization. Toronto is also on the short list for an expansion team.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league returned to Canada because interest in women’s basketball continues to increase there, including a 32% year-over-year TV viewership jump for WNBA games. Regular season viewership was up 95% from 2020-23.

“Bringing the game to Canada, I think, will have an enormous impact,” Engelbert said in a video call with reporters. “I think it did …