Tanenbaum's Toronto Basketball Legacy
Larry Tanenbaum's Enduring Legacy: How He Championed Toronto Basketball and Shaped the Raptors' Future
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Larry Tanenbaum, one of Toronto's most influential sports figures, is stepping down as a co-owner of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), according to National Post. The construction magnate spent more than three decades building basketball in Canada, long before the sport had any real following there.
His departure marks the end of an era. Rogers Communications and Bell Canada have bought out the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan — Tanenbaum's partners for nearly two decades — leaving him officially out as a power broker at MLSE, Toronto Sun reported.
The $100,000 Cheque That Started It All
In 1992, Tanenbaum did something unusual. He sent an unsolicited cheque for $100,000 to the NBA — a sign of his commitment to landing a franchise for Toronto, according to Toronto Sun. The league had not asked for it. He sent it anyway.
The Raptors were born a couple of years later, but not with Tanenbaum as an owner. He had tried to relocate several teams — including the Denver Nuggets, the New Jersey Nets, and the San Antonio Spurs — but his commitment to the NBA's expansion bid process kept getting in the way, Ottawa Sun reported. He missed the first boat, but he never stopped pushing.
Tanenbaum Brokered the Deal That Saved the Raptors
By 1998, the Raptors were at risk. Tanenbaum helped broker the acquisition of the team that year, according to Calgary Sun. That deal secured the team's long-term future in Toronto and set the stage for a permanent home at what would later become Scotiabank Arena.
The arena deal was just as important as the ownership deal. It locked both the Raptors and the Maple Leafs into Toronto for the long haul. Without Tanenbaum pushing behind the scenes, that outcome was far from guaranteed, Brantford Expositor noted.
Building a Family Culture Around the Raptors
Tanenbaum did more than sign cheques. He worked to create a family atmosphere inside the organization, according to Stratford Beacon Herald. Players, staff, and fans all felt it. He treated the Raptors like a community institution, not just a business.
That culture became part of the team's identity. It helped the Raptors grow from a struggling expansion side into a franchise that won the NBA Championship in 2019. National Post noted that his legacy includes a culture of winning that stretches well beyond any single season.
Canadian Basketball Will Feel His Absence
Tanenbaum championed basketball in Toronto when almost nobody else would. He pursued a franchise in the early 1990s when the sport was barely an afterthought in Canada, according to PR Record Gazette. His belief in the game's potential in this market turned out to be right.
Now that he's gone, observers say the loss will be real. Ottawa Sun wrote that basketball fans in Canada will be worse off without him. Few people in Canadian sports history have done more to plant a sport in a city that didn't yet know it needed one.
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