HOK Designs World-Class Performance Centre for WNBA’s Toronto Tempo

Purpose-built training home for Canada’s first WNBA team and community members will be constructed in partnership with the City of Toronto 

The Toronto Tempo and the City of Toronto today announced plans to develop the team’s first dedicated performance centre at Exhibition Place. The purpose-built facility will serve as both a high-performance training home for the Tempo and a hub for grassroots engagement, representing a significant investment in elite athlete development and community access to sport.

Scheduled to open in 2028, the performance centre will be located in downtown Toronto, steps from Coca-Cola Coliseum, the team’s home arena. The facility will feature two WNBA regulation courts, state-of-the-art player amenities, and thoughtfully designed locker rooms equipped with every resource world-class athletes need to train, recover and prepare for championship-calibre play.

“This performance centre is about building the foundation for sustained excellence,” said Monica Wright Rogers, General Manager of the Tempo. “Our players deserve a world-class environment that supports every aspect of their development, and our community deserves access to spaces that inspire the next generation. This facility will be both.”

Globally recognized architecture firm HOK designed the Performance Centre with accessibility at its core. It will welcome everyone year-round, from professional athletes to local community members, providing access to premier courts, training areas, and amenities used by the team during the season.

“This project represents a powerful opportunity to create not only an exceptional environment for elite athlete development, but a lasting symbol of equity, civic pride, and cultural identity,” said Paul Harrison, design principal for HOK. “We rooted the project in five core principles: athlete-first design, inclusive access, civic engagement, sustainability, and future adaptability.”

The Performance Centre will include:

-Two WNBA regulation courts
-First-of-its-kind locker room featuring individual showers and changing areas for each player, salon and vanity spaces, a mother’s room, and elevated interiors that simultaneously prioritize individual privacy and team comradery.
-Dedicated sports medicine, sports performance, and recovery areas; including treatment and rehab areas, strength and conditioning space, hydrotherapy pools, a sauna, a wellness consult room, and advanced recovery areas
-Expansive player lounges, fuel bars and a dining area to foster team connection, and nutritional health
-Dedicated spaces for team development, including a fully-equipped theatre for film study and conference rooms
-Collaborative Basketball Operations and Business office spaces, combining the team with the business in one state-of-the art facility

In collaboration with the City of Toronto and grassroots partners, the Tempo will also deliver development programming at the Performance Centre, designed to expand access to basketball and create new pathways for athletes at every level.

The Performance Centre underscores the Tempo’s long-term commitment to investing in infrastructure that advances women’s professional sport in Canada and strengthens the broader basketball ecosystem.

“Through our Women in Sport initiative, we bring specialized insight into the lived experiences of female athletes, ensuring the facility supports performance while addressing equity, safety, and community representation,” said Melissa Clark, regional leader of Sport+Recreation+Entertainment with HOK. “Our approach embeds these values into every aspect of the new Performance Centre.”

MORE LIKE THIS