The long awaited and long hinted wait for PWHL expansion is over. The PWHL today advised media they'll be making an expansion announcement today at 2pm EST.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Vancouver, British Columbia would be the first location named for PWHL expansion. Outlets stated that the new Vancouver franchise would play out of the Pacific Coliseum, former home to the NHL's Vancouver Canucks.
It's also believed a subsequent expansion announcement will be made regarding a second new franchise, which is believed to be destined for Seattle, Washington.
Following the 2pm EST announcement PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford, and executive vice president of business operations Amy Scheer are set to speak to media at 5:15pm EST.
The PWHL launched in 2023 with their inaugural 2024 season including teams in Boston, New York, Minnesota, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. Following the PWHL's inaugural season, Montreal and Toronto were forced to move into larger venues due to the immense demand from fans for tickets.
During the 2024-25 season, the PWHL test drove a variety of potential PWHL markets via their PWHL Takeover Tour including drawing 19,038 fans to Vancouver at Rogers Arena.
In total, the nine stop PWHL Takeover Tour drew 123,601, including 12,608 in Seattle.