With facilities at the top of mind among PWHL executives, the need for significant work at Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre may be the market’s Achilles heel.
With facilities at the top of mind among PWHL executives, the Scotiabank Centre may end up being the element hindering Halifax’s expansion odds.
The PWHL officially announced Detroit as the league’s ninth franchise on May 6. The Motor City is expected to be one of as many as four markets expected to be added to the PWHL for the 2026-27 season.
Amy Scheer, the PWHL’s executive vice president of business operations, has said that facilities are the driving factor league executives are evaluating when considering markets for potential expansion.
The league’s newest franchise will be hosting games out of Little Caesars Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons. The 2017 built arena is renowned for its excellent facilities, including winning a sports business award for sports facility of the year in 2018.
Halifax hosted two 2025-26 PWHL Takeover Tour games on Dec. 17 and Jan. 11 at the Scotiabank Centre. The arena, which opened its doors in 1978, is the only facility in the Halifax Regional Municipality that would be capable of housing an incoming franchise.
But the building is aging, and according to recent reports, is in need of significant upgrades and renovations to remain a viable venue for world-class events.
Suzanne Fougere, the president and CEO of Events East Group, presented the organization’s 2026-27 business plan to city council on April 28. She said the Scotiabank Centre will require major upgrades in the future to help modernize the near 50-year-old arena’s facilities.
“We’re just reaching the stage now that it’s time to start thinking about the more significant investments that will be required as it nears 50 years of age,” she said during the presentation.
The Scotiabank Centre is managed by EEG, a crown corporation owned by the city and the Nova Scotia government. The group projects a $49 million economic impact for the Scotiabank Centre in 2026-27 – a $1 million decrease from 2025-26.
Fougere said improvements to the arena’s accessibility, technology and sustainability facilities need to be targeted for major upgrades, but provided no specifics on what changes are expected to be made.
Halifax’s mayoral office and EEG communications did not respond to The Hockey News interview requests prior to publication.
Haligonians Are Ready, E
The two 2025-26 Takeover Tour games in Halifax were large successes, both featuring sold out crowds. Of the 14 other tour games, only Winnipeg’s March 22 game at the Canada Life Centre sold out as well.
The arena’s 10,595 maximum capacity for was the lowest among Takeover Tour locations by nearly 5,000 seats, but would be ranked higher than four current PWHL markets. The league’s game attendance for the 2025-26 season was 9,304. Recently, PWHL Advisory Board member Stan Kasten said the league’s desired sweet spot for arena capacity was around 10,000.
But with uncertainty surround the level of disruption major renovations could have, or perhaps the future of the venue itself, it could have been enough to dissuade the PWHL in this round of expansion until Halifax has a plan solidified for the arena. The PWHL has faced this issue in Ottawa at the aging TD Place. With that venue slated to be demolished, the league is being forced to move to a new venue, the Canadian Tire Centre, an option that does not exist in Halifax.
Dawn Delaney, the director of market and communications for EEG, told The Hockey News that there would be no challenges or roadblocks for the arena to host a PWHL franchise in December.
The arena is currently home to the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL and the Halifax Thunderbirds of the National Lacrosse League. A PWHL team would become one of the city’s premier sporting events.