A source with knowledge of the decision confirmed to The Associated Press on Friday that the PWHL’s first expansion team will be headquartered in Vancouver, with an announcement expected next week. The individual spoke on the condition of anonymity because the league has not disclosed its plans. The Province newspaper in Vancouver originally disclosed the city’s selection for PWHL expansion.
The league’s announcement of a second expansion city, with Seattle under consideration, is currently on hold, according to the individual. If conversations with Seattle officials fail, the league has other expansion prospects, according to the source. The Vancouver expansion announcement is likely to be made on Wednesday, with journalists invited to a news conference touted as “historic announcement for sport in Vancouver and British Columbia.” The new franchise is expected to be situated at the Pacific Coliseum, the former home of the NHL Canucks.
The PWHL declined to corroborate any facts, saying: “We’re still finalising expansion decisions and hope to share more information soon.”
The six-team league is in the midst of its second season and has spent the previous six months analysing more than 20 areas for the possibility of expanding by up to two franchises. The decision to choose Vancouver fits several crucial criteria for the PWHL, which will be created in June 2023 by Dodgers owner Mark Walter, the league’s financial sponsor, and tennis great Billie Jean King.
Aside from being a major market, the region has a rising girls’ hockey base, as evidenced by a sellout crowd of 19,038 at a PWHL neutral site game in Vancouver in January – the fourth-largest turnout in league history.
Geography also plays a role, with the league aiming to expand its reach throughout North America. The league now has five northeast-based clubs (New York, Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto), as well as one in St. Paul, Minnesota. PWHL officials have quietly expressed concern about a new professional women’s league forming on the west coast.
Seattle’s closeness to Vancouver, as well as the fact that it already has two professional women’s teams, the WNBA Storm and NWSL Reign FC, making it the most logical location for an expansion team. In January, the PWHL hosted a neutral site game in Seattle, which drew 12,608. Other potential cities include Denver, Detroit, and Quebec City, however the PWHL is more likely to want a second expansion franchise headquartered in the United States.
The PWHL’s nine-city Takeover Tour of neutral games this season garnered 123,601 fans, helping the league surpass one million in attendance last month. The PWHL regular season continues next week, with each team having three games remaining, following a three-week break coinciding with the women’s world championships in the Czech Republic. The four-team playoffs are scheduled to begin in the first week of May.
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