Dallas Wings, Toronto Tempo Draw Highest-Attended Regular-Season Game In WNBA History

MONTREAL — A crowd of 20,996 packed Bell Centre on Friday for the first WNBA game ever played in Montreal, the highest-attended regular-season game in league history, as the Dallas Wings beat the Toronto Tempo 108-95 behind Paige Bueckers‘ 34 points.

The crowd broke the previous WNBA regular-season mark of 20,711, set by the Washington Mystics and Indiana Fever at Capital One Arena in September 2024. When accounting for the postseason, it rivaled the league’s all-time attendance record of 22,076, set during both the 2003 and 2007 WNBA Finals in Detroit. The Professional Women’s Hockey League’s own Montreal record is 21,105, set by a Canadiens-Toronto game in April 2024.

Sandy Brondello: WNBA’s Only Canadian Team Carries ‘a Responsibility’

Tempo coach Sandy Brondello framed the record crowd as more than a nice number. With the Tempo being Canada’s only team, there is a sense of responsibility to the fans across the country.

“Being the only team in Canada, it’s a responsibility for us and how cool is that,” Brondello said. “We get to be seen all over Canada. We want to make sure we can come out tonight and celebrate the WNBA and celebrate the Tempo with our new fans.”

Brondello said the trip through Montreal fits into a larger mission for the franchise.

“I said to the team today what a unique opportunity this is. We’re creating firsts. We say we’re Canada’s team so we’re taking the show on the road,” Brondello said. “I always say, a fan has to just come and watch one game and they’ll fall in love.”

Toronto returns to Bell Centre to face the New York Liberty on Sunday and will also play two games in Vancouver, British Columbia, later this season, continuing the same cross-country push.

Paige Bueckers On The WNBA’s Growth

For Bueckers, playing in two Canadian cities in the span of a week was another marker of how far women’s basketball has traveled. She did her part to put on a show, scoring a season-high 34 points while 13-of-22 from the floor, 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, and 6-of-6 on free throws, while adding 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals.

“Yeah, it’s just really cool. It speaks to the game expanding. It speaks to the global reach of the game and how much women’s sports has become this phenomenon where everybody wants to tune in, everybody wants to pay attention, and everybody wants to come and support,” Bueckers said. “So it’s just a great time to be a woman in sports. It’s really exciting to get out here in Canada. I know I have a lot of friends and people I’m close with who speak so highly of it, so it’s great to experience it myself.”

Asked why the sport’s momentum has held up even as new stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have entered the league, Bueckers pointed to sustained media coverage, with games now on networks including ESPN, Amazon Prime, NBC, and more.

“I think it’s just people starting to pay attention. I’ve said it before: people can start as a fan of one person, but then they come to the games, they watch the games, and they end up fans of so many more,” Bueckers said. “There’s just great momentum right now. We feel like women’s sports, and women’s basketball specifically, has always been great. I think we’re just now getting the media coverage, the national publicity, and the visibility. You see women in sports in national TV commercials. You see games on ESPN, Amazon Prime, NBC, and all those platforms. I think we’re finally getting the coverage and being talked about the way we should be. Women’s sports have always been great.”

Up Next

Toronto returns to Bell Centre to face the New York Liberty on Sunday. Dallas returns home to host the Chicago Sky at American Airlines Center the same day.