With another successful PWHL Takeover Tour stop in Denver, including going head-to-head with another massive sporting event in the city, it's starting to look like Denver is a safe bet for PWHL expansion.
Sunday afternoon at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, 76,862 fans packed into the stadium to watch the AFC Championship Game with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line.
It was a major moment for sports and NFL fans in Denver, Colorado despite the Denver Broncos falling to the New England Patriots 10-7.
Only 200 yards away at Ball Arena however, the puck dropped on what could be an important moment for the future of professional sports in Denver. It was the PWHL's second ever Takeover Tour stop to the city, and despite the massive interest in the market for their NFL team that day, Denver still managed to show up for the game attracting 11,612 fans.
Considering the magnitude of the game simultaneously happening only steps from Ball Arena, the fact the PWHL Takeover Tour only saw a small reduction from last year's attendance of 14,018 in Denver was impressive. Denver will have one final PWHL Takeover Tour game to prove their case to the league in mid-March when the New York Sirens and Minnesota Frost come to town.
At this point however, unless something falls through with the venue or city, it feels almost inevitable that Denver will be one of the 2-4 markets added to the PWHL ahead of next season.
The PWHL expanded to the west coast this season adding teams in Seattle and Vancouver, and the league is still looking to expand their North American footprint. Currently the league has teams in the Pacific and Central time zones, but they don't have a team in the Mountain zone, which Denver, and potentially Edmonton in Canada would satisfy stretching the league across the continent. Unless the league also expands to Washington, DC, Denver would also mark the only PWHL team south of the 40th parallel.
With a national broadcasting deal in mind to help secure revenue and future security for the league, expanding the PWHL to large American markets. It's why Chicago and Washington, DC are also on the league's radar.
Denver however, checks many boxes, and seeing consistent crowds above the league's current attendance average of 8,834 bodes well for the hopes of Denver securing a team.
Perhaps the main barrier to a team in Denver is the fact that Ball Arena is already the primary venue for the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, NBA's Denver Nuggets, and NLL's Colorado Mammoth who all have overlapping schedules with the PWHL. Adding a fourth professional team to the market could force a PWHL team to feast on scraps for scheduling.
Conversely, the market in Denver for professional women's sports sits largely untapped. The city will get a National Women's Soccer franchise this year, the Denver Summit, the first major professional team to call the city home. The WNBA does not have a franchise in Colorado.
Despite arena availability being a concern, the pros to Denver joining the PWHL seemingly outweigh any cons that exist. It's why at this juncture in the league's process, it would be shocking to not see Denver added to the PWHL ahead of next season.