Since its inaugural season last year, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has garnered the attention of women’s sports lovers everywhere and smashed records across North America.
The league now holds the all-time record for attendance for a women’s hockey game of 21,105 spectators, and games have been regularly moved to arenas with larger capacities to accommodate a growing demand from fans.
With the PWHL’s popularity growing exponentially, it only makes sense that the league is building on the support generated in its first year and requesting proposals to expand its original six teams to eight.
The league has made public the criteria it prioritizes when considering proposals. They will evaluate each market’s size, available facilities and infrastructure, local economic opportunity, community fan base, and youth hockey presence.
The league has received more than 25 expansion proposals, according to the PWHL’s senior VP of business operations, Amy Scheer. That list will eventually be narrowed down to two, so which cities can make the strongest case?
- Pittsburgh
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Last March, the PWHL partnered with the Pittsburgh Penguins to host a game at PPG Paints Arena as part of the league’s Takeover Weekend. With an attendance of 8,850, the highest-attended women’s hockey game in Pittsburgh history, the reception and overall atmosphere proved the desire for women’s hockey in the Pennsylvania market.
Pittsburgh is an untapped market for women’s sports, with neither the WNBA nor the NWSL having a franchise in the city. There are also many opportunities for young hockey players, such as the Penguins Girls Elite Hockey program and the Pittsburgh Steel City Selects.
Pittsburgh has also demonstrated heavy interest in bringing a professional women’s hockey team to the city. Fenway Sports Group, the owner of the Penguins, has begun to build a team that would eventually land a PWHL team in Pittsburgh.
From a geographic standpoint, Pittsburgh is within the northeastern region, making travel logistics easier as five of six teams in the league are currently within that same region.
- Quebec City
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Quebec City is no stranger to professional hockey, housing the Nordiques until 1995 when they were relocated to Colorado. As the desire for the NHL to return to the provincial capital increases, the opportunity for the PWHL to scratch the professional hockey itch grows with it.
During the PWHL’s Takeover Tour, the Montreal Victoire hosted the Ottawa Charge at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City in January. The sold-out crowd of 18,259 was the second largest of the 2024-25 season so far, showcasing the city’s appetite for professional hockey.
Adding a PWHL team to Quebec City also provides the chance for a provincial rivalry, perhaps the Battle of Highway 20, which would certainly boost the popularity of both teams. The PWHL also already has a strong presence of Quebec-born players in the league, providing excellent opportunities for athletes to connect with their home fans.
- Chicago
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Expanding to a midwestern city such as Chicago would create a geographical rivalry with the Minnesota Frost and link the Frost and the rest of the league on the map. Currently, Minnesota is the only team located outside of the northeastern hub.
Geography offers a solid argument, but it’s far from the only thing favouring Chicago as a future epicentre for women’s hockey. Chicago is a hub for sports, with deep roots in all four major professional men’s leagues and a rapidly growing women’s sports landscape. The city is home to the NWSL’s Red Stars and WNBA’s Chicago Sky, so it only feels like a natural fit to add a professional women’s hockey team.
Chicago also has youth programs and notable home-grown national team players, including Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Cammi Granato, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Abbey Murphy.
The biggest issue Chicago will face is finding a venue to locate the team. The United Center is likely too big and busy, so the Wintrust Arena, where the Chicago Sky play, could be a good alternative with around 10,000 seats. The only issue with Wintrust is that it primarily serves as a basketball venue, raising concerns that it could facilitate a sheet of ice.
Another alternative could be the Allstate Arena, home to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. The venue is around 20 miles from the downtown core in Rosemont, Illinois, where Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is located, and has a capacity of 18,500.
- Detroit
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Like Pittsburgh, Detroit also hosted a neutral-site PWHL game as part of last March’s Takeover Weekend. An attempt at scoping a potential market in the Motor City turned into a monumental day, with a crowd of 13,736 breaking the attendance record for a professional women’s hockey game in the U.S.
Nicknamed “Hockeytown,” Detroit has a storied history with the sport. The Detroit Red Wings are an Original Six NHL franchise and have established a foundation that could help professional women’s hockey grow and thrive. There is also a fight for a Division I women’s team at the University of Michigan, further proving the state’s desire for women’s hockey.
According to USA Hockey, Michigan ranked fourth in female hockey registration last season, only behind Minnesota, Massachusetts, and New York — three states already with PWHL franchises. Michigan is a hotspot for developing hockey talent and has many youth leagues, including the Girls Junior Red Wings, the Detroit Bulldogs Hockey Club, and the Michigan Girls Hockey League.
Like many American cities on this list, Detroit’s most significant issue will be locating a venue with hosting capabilities. The Little Caesars Arena is currently home to the Red Wings and the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, making it difficult for an expansion team to fit in the calendar. While challenging, fitting an expansion team into the venue schedule is not insurmountable, as Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens currently share a venue with NHL teams.
- Denver
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As the PWHL looks to widen its American footprint, Denver is slowly becoming a leading contender for an expansion team. A growing hub for women’s sports, Denver was recently awarded the 16th NWSL team and is also looking to host a WNBA expansion team.
The Takeover Tour also stopped in Denver in January, where a crowd of 14,018 at the Ball Arena broke the U.S. attendance record for a professional women’s hockey game, less than a year after it was set in Detroit. During the game, fans chanted, “We want a team.”
Denver certainly has the facilities to host a PWHL team with the Denver Coliseum. The arena has a capacity of 10,200 and is close to other major sporting venues in Denver, such as Ball Arena and Coors Field. The Colorado Avalanche also hosts Girls Hockey Night games every season, allowing girls aged 4 to 12 to play hockey regardless of skill level.
While the PWHL will likely prioritize northeastern markets, such as Quebec City and Chicago, expanding to Denver allows the league to test the western market waters without entirely having to make the jump.
- Halifax
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The only city on this list that has never been home to an NHL squad, Halifax is home to a thriving hockey fan base with a rich history of producing elite players. For decades, fans in the Maritime Provinces have been itching for a taste of professional hockey, and a decision to place some PWHL roots in the Maritimes would emphasize growth beyond the league’s northeastern hub.
As the largest city in the Maritimes, Halifax is the most obvious candidate for the region. Scotiabank Centre, where the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads play, would be a great option as a venue, seating over 10,500 and conveniently located in downtown Halifax.
On Feb. 6, 2025, the U.S. and Canada National Women’s Teams met at a packed Scotiabank Centre for game four of the 2024-25 Rivalry Series. Although Canada lost in a shootout, the crowd was still electrifying, with many players and coaches preaching the importance of having young kids in the Maritimes experience major hockey events.
“I think tonight is bigger than just one hockey game,” said Team Canada’s assistant coach, Kori Cheverie. “It’s really a moment for our sport and for young kids in the Maritimes to experience such an amazing event that hasn’t been [in Halifax] for a very long time. So it’s a lot bigger than just the shootout loss tonight.”
Halifax’s biggest strength may be its biggest hurdle, as the city adds significant travel logistics. Not all existing PWHL markets have direct flights to Halifax, and the league doesn’t currently charter flights, adding time and cost to travelling between cities.
- Vancouver
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An expansion west seems far-fetched for the PWHL, as Vancouver is far from the pre-existing teams. The league may delay expanding to the West Coast until they can support the development of a full Western conference, as travel times for a Vancouver team would be challenging, and the costs would be high.
Vancouver will be a prime market when the league eventually expands west. The Takeover Tour stopped in Vancouver in early January, leading to a sold-out crowd of 19,032, the highest attendance figure of the 2024-25 season.
Most of British Columbia has not seen professional women’s hockey for over a decade. Vancouver is a very large city with a strong economy to support a team through sponsorships. The city also regularly produces top-notch hockey talents such as Ava McGinley, Chloe Primerano, and Naz Mansour, who are all expected to pursue professional hockey.
Vancouver has ample venue options, with the Rogers Arena only hosting the Vancouver Canucks. There are also plenty of opportunities for youth hockey in Vancouver, ticking all of the boxes the PWHL considers when searching for the perfect expansion team.
- Seattle
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Home to one of the NHL’s newest franchises, the success of the Seattle Kraken shows a growing appetite for hockey. The placement of a PWHL franchise in Seattle would feed a wide variety of the West, including Vancouver.
The Kraken have shown the league how to make important history by hiring Jessica Campbell — the first female assistant coach in a behind-the-bench role with an NHL club. Collaborations between the Kraken and a PWHL franchise would be extra special.
Like many cities on this list, Seattle was also a stop in the PWHL Takeover Tour. The crowd of 12,608 fans nearly broke the U.S. attendance record but was shy by roughly 1,400.
Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, where the Kraken and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm currently play, has plenty of availability that a PWHL team could easily fill.
- Edmonton
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Edmonton has been embedded within hockey culture for generations. The city has hosted one of the largest annual minor hockey tournaments and is home to plenty of academies for youth players looking to fast-track their careers.
From 1973 onward, the Edmonton Chimos put women’s hockey onto the map with their persistence. They would travel the province taking on men’s teams, refusing to take “no” for an answer. It was the only way for the league to survive in the 1980s when there were still opinions that women might not belong in hockey.
Fast forward to the present day, and the PWHL is thriving. The Ottawa Charge recently took on the Toronto Sceptres for the fifth game of the Takeover Tour in Edmonton. The sold-out crowd of 17,518 brought an electric energy to Rogers Place, emphasizing the desire to bring back women’s hockey in the West.
Rogers Place is home to the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings, so schedule space for a PWHL franchise would be limited. Other potential arena options include the Edmonton Expo Centre or the Clare Drake Arena, both less than 15 minutes from Edmonton’s downtown core.
- Calgary
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Just one of two cities on this list that has not yet hosted a PWHL neutral site game, Calgary could be considered an underdog contender at this point.
Calgary plays a central role in women’s hockey as the gathering place of the nation’s best female hockey when they are called for Team Canada training camps. The city also has a strong track record of success in professional women’s hockey — the Calgary Inferno joined the Canadian Women’s Hockey League in 2011 and won the Clarkson Cup twice, including the league’s final season in 2019.
There are plenty of places a Calgary expansion team could call home, most notably the Scotiabank Saddledome, home of the Calgary Flames.
As Alberta is a great hockey province and would embrace another team, a PWHL expansion that includes Edmonton and Calgary would give hockey fans another Battle of Alberta to get excited about.
With the league gaining interest from outside North America, the PWHL is also exploring staging games in Europe and outdoor games. The league noted that viewers from 88 countries outside Canada and the U.S. watched the league’s games on YouTube during its inaugural season.
Given its growing popularity, the PWHL has hired a United Kingdom-based agency to sell its international broadcast rights as more European players join the league.
The continued desire for more professional women’s hockey teams on a global scale solidifies that sports are for everyone, and women’s sports are certainly here to stay.