The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is looking to add two new teams to the league as early as the 2025-2026 season, Amy Schneer, PWHL SVP of Business Operations, announced on Tuesday, October 29.
After smashing all of the expectations for the league last year, this announcement comes as no surprise.
The PWHL started its inaugural season with six teams, three in Canada (Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa) and three in America (Minnesota, Boston, New York). Immediately, fans were begging for more.
Throughout the first season, the league would take games to many different arenas, playing special games in special places. The PWHL saw extremely strong fan engagement and attendance in non-team markets, including significant attendance at neutral-site games in Pittsburgh and Detroit.
The first six cities were chosen out of convenience. Transportation was not finalized and the league didn’t have all the sponsors it has now. Meaning, that the six East Coast teams simplified transportation options.
However, now, the league has gained a sponsorship with Air Canada among other big-name brands, meaning we could see expansions outside of the radius the league currently has.
But what are the likely landing spots for new teams?
After the success of their game last season, everyone is buzzing at the idea of Motor City getting a team. The PWHL game played in Detroit last season saw a packed house with 13,736 fans in attendance.
And that crowd was bumping. Videos of their Taylor Swift sing-along went viral and certainly fueled the fire that was a growing women’s hockey league.
A team in Detroit would also keep the PWHL within their convenient travel radius. Which, although may not be as big of a concern, would still help save where they can as a growing business.
Another location that could be an expansion candidate is Vancouver. There’s no doubt that they have a hockey market and the population to garner attendance. It is also likely that with two expansion teams coming, we might see one Canadian and one American. Just to keep things even.
Another consideration is where they would play. The PWHL seems to be located in sports that have arena options, with many of the teams splitting times between different venues. Vancouver would allow for the PWHL team to play out of an AHL arena their first year while finding their footing, just like many other teams did last year.
Finally, it’s been no secret that Vegas wants in on the action.
In a statement over the summer when Kerry Bubolz, the president of the Vegas Golden Knights expressed their organization’s interest in establishing a PWHL team in Las Vegas.
They seem to be a spot where sports thrive and become a spectacle.
The sports market is growing in Las Vegas and it may not be long until the PWHL expands there.
While the PWHL has not disclosed any of their expansion candidates yet, there have definitely been some front-runners in the rumors so far.
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