Every time Natalie Vermaas enters Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena to watch the WNBA’s Storm play, the staff in the building and team refer to her as “Canada.”
She anticipates that this nickname will change if she manages to obtain tickets for the WNBA Canada Game, a pre-season exhibition match between Seattle and the Los Angeles Sparks at Edmonton’s Rogers Place on May 5, which go on sale Wednesday. Vermaas expressed her willingness to give up her beloved nickname in order to watch her favorite professional sports team play in Canada alongside thousands of her fellow citizens.
“I think it would be amazing to watch that game with fellow Canadians,” Vermaas said. “Especially because (Canadian guard) Kia Nurse, who was previously with Seattle, has just been traded to L.A. and will now be playing in Edmonton.
“How amazing would it be to see Kia Nurse playing on Canadian soil with Canadians?”
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THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Natalie Vermaas **MANDATORY CREDIT** Natalie Vermaas
Vermaas, a school teacher based in Vancouver, considers herself a WNBA superfan. She holds Storm season tickets and travels to Seattle nearly 20 times per year to watch her favorite team play. While Vermaas is a fan of many sports, she believes that nothing can compare to the atmosphere of a WNBA arena.
“The energy is unbelievable. The excitement and energy from the moment you step into the arena,” Vermaas commented, noting that Vancouver sports fans can sometimes be unpredictable. “But when you walk into a WNBA arena, like when I go to Seattle, it feels like everyone is thrilled to be there, everyone is there for the same reason.
They want to witness top-tier competition. They want to see the best of the best in action and they genuinely support your team.”
Vermaas missed out on Canada’s first WNBA game, where a full crowd of 19,800 witnessed the Chicago Sky defeat the Minnesota Lynx 82-74 on May 13 at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. This was due to a personal scheduling conflict, so she is now clearing her calendar and hoping to secure a ticket for the game in Edmonton before the rush.
“I’ve been researching flights to see if I can leave on Friday after teaching and return on Sunday or early Monday morning,” she remarked. “Edmonton is a short flight, so we are trying to figure out flight and hotel expenses and waiting for ticket sales to begin, but the goal is to be there.”
As reported by multiple media outlets on March 5, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment chairman Larry Tanenbaum is seeking to establish a WNBA team in Toronto for the 2026 season through his holding company Kilmer Group.
Kilmer Sports Venture has appointed longtime European soccer executive Ivan Gazidis to lead the new organization. Gazidis has previously served as CEO for both AC Milan and Arsenal and was one of the founders of Major League Soccer.
