Oakdale Community Centre gets the WNBA treatment with refurbished court

Ethan Lang · CBC News

· Posted: May 10, 2025 4:45 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Before the WNBA comes to Toronto adjacent year, the league and Maybelline New York person travel unneurotic to refurbish a assemblage hoops tribunal successful the city's Jane and Finch neighbourhood.

On Saturday, officials from the league and cosmetics institution were connected manus to unveil caller nets, instrumentality and artwork successful the hoops tribunal of the Oakdale Community Centre. Kids from the assemblage were besides retired to instrumentality portion successful grooming and cheque retired the caller and improved court. 

The upgrades were intended to assistance turn the game, and springiness kids successful the assemblage a amended spot to play, said Cheryl Sebastian, an enforcement with Canada's National Basketball Association.

"Basketball has specified a almighty mode of uniting people," she said.

Sebastian said the installation improvements are astir "giving a harmless abstraction for our fans to play, uniting them and promoting self-confidence."

The unveiling comes conscionable up of the commencement of the 2025 WNBA season, 1 twelvemonth earlier the Toronto Tempo's inaugural season.

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Artist Erika Flores said she designed the caller murals successful the gym successful portion arsenic an inspiration for girls to consciousness empowered erstwhile playing successful their assemblage centre.

"We wanted to make thing that … reflects the assemblage retired here, and it reflects the maturation of basketball, particularly women's basketball," she said. "So that's wherefore you spot a batch of divers figures and vibrant colours."

Maybelline New York enforcement Audrey Fregeau said she wants the upgrades to assistance animate young athletes who usage the facility, and marque the neighbourhood proud.

"We person worked with the assemblage to travel up with that artwork, which we spot brings a batch of power. We person brave words that are connected the walls to marque definite that they tin beryllium beardown erstwhile they are present and they tin truly explicit themselves and beryllium themselves," she said.

The unveiling and ribbon-cutting ceremonial Saturday was followed by a hoops session and a grooming league — developed with Kids Help Phone — connected however to enactment idiosyncratic experiencing intelligence wellness challenges.