The Olympics have again showcased the appetite for women's hockey globally with big crowds and international interest. The draw for the PWHL Takeover Tour to cross the Atlantic could soon become too great to ignore.
Despite the fact the PWHL is continuing with rapid expansion, the league will not be planting a team in Europe. But that doesn’t mean the league won’t soon be eyeing a European debut, particularly following the success of another Olympic women’s hockey tournament.
Coupled with record women’s hockey attendance marks in Italy, Czechia, France, Switzerland, Sweden, and almost every other nation in on the continent, the time is right for the PWHL to “Takeover” Europe.
Originally, PWHL board member Stan Kasten repeatedly mentioned European goals for the league. Those messages have since subsided, but the league may have other European plans, including future stops on the PWHL Takeever Tour.
Attendance has continued to skyrocket in European leagues and international competition overseas. In March 2025, Frolunda drew 8,442 for a home game against Lulea in SDHL action.
This season Switzerland's PostFinance Women's League drew a new recod of 4,997 for a game between the ZSC Lions and EV Zug. Internationally, Czechia's 2025 World Championships set a new all-time total attendance mark for the tournament, and Czechia drew multiple sellout crowds of 5,859. At the 2026 Olympics, Italy's second preliminary round game against Sweden brought in 10,727 fans.
Not only are crowd sizes increasing in Europe, but the facilities are ready and waiting for PWHL action.
The continent is littered with large venues capable of hosting a PWHL Takeover Tour stop in almost every nation.
MVD Dome in Budapest, Hungary is the largest at 19,182 capacity, followed by Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany which has a capacity of 18,500; Czechia's 17,383 seat O2 Arena in Prague; and Bern, Switzerland's 17.031 seat PostFinance Arena.
Germany has arenas with large capacities in several cities including Dusseldorf (14,282), Berlin (14,200), Mannheim (13,600), Hamburg (12,947), and Munich (10,796). Other nations like France, with Paris' Accor Arena (13,877), Denmark's Royal Arena (12,500) in Copenhagen, Ireland's 10,800 seat Odyssey Arena in Belfast, or the 10,055 set Ondrej Nepela Arena in Bratislava, Slovakia could also house games.
In Europe's most traditional hockey nations, Finland and Sweden, several arenas exist that could easily host PWHL Takeover Tour stops. The primary candidate in Finland include Tampere's 13,455 seat Nokia Arena, Helsinki's 13,349 Helsinki Halli, and Turku's 10,500 seat Gatorade Center.
In Sweden, it's Stockholm's 13,850 Avicii Arena, Malmo's 12,600 Malmo Arena, and Gothenburg's 12,044 seat Scandinavium.
Russia also has 11 arenas with a capacity of greater than 10,000, although it's unlikely the league will venture to Russia given the political climate and war against Ukraine that continues.
Other nations however, including Poland, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Croatia, and Latvia also all have 10,000 seat, or large hockey venues.
The PWHL has lobbied to move the World Championships outside of their regular season, which will for the first time occur in 2026. It opens time where the league could piggyback on existing international breaks to get players overseas, play a handful of games, and return without significant disruption to their regular schedule.
With past conversation by the PWHL involving a European future, and the league's continued look to expand their fan base, sell merchandise, and to attract talent, a European Takeover could soon be on the horizon.