Sights and sounds from the Tempo’s first game at Scotiabank Arena

TORONTO — It doesn’t get more Canada basketball than this.

On Saturday, the Toronto Tempo took to the city’s biggest court for the very first time. Scotiabank Arena, which usually hosts the Toronto Raptors, was decked out in bordeaux and borealis blue for the Tempo’s first home game outside of Coca-Cola Coliseum.

The game against the Phoenix Mercury marked yet another milestone for a team that has surely hit their fair share through the first 18 games of the season. Coming off of Marina Mabrey’s 53-point effort against the Los Angeles Sparks, the Saturday matinee was oozing with excitement, and not just because of the sheer number of people in attendance. The stadium played host to 15,687 fans — almost double the usual sold-out crowd at regular Tempo home games.

But before the game could become a celebration of Mabrey’s recent record and a victory lap of sorts where she would attempt to pick up where she left off, an unfortunate hiccup during warmup meant the millionaire star became a late scratch from the starting line before she was quickly ruled out of the game with a neck injury.

In her place stepped up Canadian basketball royalty Kia Nurse.

Nurse, with her success in the league, efforts to grow the women’s game in Canada, and offseason gig as one of the analysts on the Raptors’ broadcasts, is an avatar of basketball in this country. To have her step out as the unexpected replacement, onto the freshly revealed new Cross-Canada series court that features a giant maple leaf plastered across the center, felt like the perfect final touch.

And then she stepped up and drained a three for the first points of the game.

The stadium erupted. Tempo players experienced that beautiful homecourt sound for the first time, one enjoyed by the Raptors for decades.

“It’s always special to be able to be in this building,” Nurse said. “I’ve watched and worked a lot of Toronto Raptors games here, and so to be on the court is a little bit different, but I’m excited about it. I love playing in a big arena. I think it’s great for us to be able to show the interest in the love for women’s basketball, especially in this building.”

And although the game didn’t end in favor of the exuberant home crowd, it featured a first glimpse at what it truly looks like when there’s an entire country behind an WNBA team — and, for the first time, the Tempo fit more than 8,210 of them in a single arena.

Here’s a look at some of the sights and sounds from Saturday night.

---

Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women’s Sports Daily

We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women’s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women’s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!

---

Play with Pride Night

To up the celebration, the Tempo scheduled their Pride Night to fall on a day when the largest number of fans could be in attendance.

Pride celebrations were in full force with creative homemade signs, runway-worthy outfits, and exciting live performances.

Special live performances punctuated the event. Nina Sky performed their hit song “Move ya Body” live among the dancers of the official Tempo rhythm section, while Charlotte Day Wilson also took to the mic for some time in the spotlight.

The first 5,000 fans also received a special Pride T-shirt as a keepsake for the special event.

At half, the House of Tempo ran a tightly contested voguing battle on center court complete with each contestant wearing the Pride giveaway shirts fashioned into creative outfits and a panel of of three judges to make the final decision.

The hardwood

The Tempo revealed a new specialty court that will be traveling across the summer with them on Saturday.

As the team gears up for a set of four games to be split between Vancouver and Montreal, it had to break in the court that will act as home. This design features the same color palette as the original, just with some upgraded symbolism and features. The border is a light borealis blue that perfectly matches the team’s rebel jerseys.

---

Rep The IX Sports at your next game!

---

Giving the Raptor rookies a house tour

Allen Graves and Jaden Bradley are the two newest tenants of Scotiabank Arena.

So, after the Raptors picked them in the draft last week, they had to jump at their first chance to see their new home in action.

Essentially, Julie Allemand and Izzy Harrison helped out with some of Graves’ and Bradley’s new job onboarding as they — along with the rest of the Tempo roster — showed the city’s newest talent how to take the court in Toronto.

Graves and Bradley both sat courtside with head coach Darko Rajaković, while many more members of the Raptors’ roster filled out a box. Given their reaction when the in-arena camera panned up to them, you’d assume these star basketball talents had never been on a jumbotron before — they were so excited to see their faces up there.

Also in attendance was Masai Ujiiri, a key member of the Tempo ownership who started his heavy involvement in Toronto pro ball back in 2013 as the general manager of the Raptors. He is now the president of the Dallas Mavericks. His feature on the big screen elicited one of the greatest cheers of the night.

Tampons and flying Sephora gift cards

Talk about activation.

There are few things more active than arena staff running up and down the stairs handing out boxes of tampons to winning rows of seats.

Except, perhaps, tiny Sephora gift bags with dainty gift cards tied with white parachutes sailing from the rafters to make a perfect crash landing in the sold-out lower bowl.

The special area called for special activations and fan experiences, and the Tempo partnerships team did not disappoint. They helped create a memorable event for many fans who were getting a first taste of the WNBA. The atmosphere was an expanded version of the magic that already exists in Coca-Cola Coliseum.

---

---