The PWHL announced their six venues for the upcoming season. Here's a look at which venue reigns supreme as we rank them from best to worst.

We now officially know the PWHL's six venues for the inaugural season. Rinks located in Ottawa, Toronto, St. Paul, Montreal, Lowell, and Bridgeport will house the PWHL's six teams.

While each rink has benefits, particularly with ample space for fans and professional facilities, they all have their positives and negatives.

Here's our ranking of the PWHL's facilities from best, to worst.

1. TD Place Arena, Ottawa, Ontario

Capacity: 6,500
It's hard to argue with this venue. It's located in the heart of Ottawa unlike the Ottawa Senators' arena, which is nearly 30km away. The 6,500 seat capacity is ideal for the league, and the fan reaction to the team and venue has been overwhelmingly positive. Home to the OHL's Ottawa 67s, the infrastructure in the arena is in place, and following recent renovations, most fans will benefit from the massive video screen, while the team itself will have newly constructed facilities to call home. It's one of the older arenas in the league, but it also wins the day by combining the perfect mix of size, location, and atmosphere.

2. Verdun Auditorium, Montreal, Quebec

Capacity: 4,114
If there is a facility that could soon end up being too small, it's the Verdun Auditorium. Montreal is a team that will likely draw strong attendance to begin with regional stars like Marie-Philip Poulin and Ann-Renee Desbiens drawing attention. Come playoffs, this arena will be electric. One of the biggest benefits to the venue is PWHL Montreal will be the primary on-ice tenant meaning the team can brand the arena's ice and halls. Not far from downtown, this facility has shown the ability to draw crowds, and the PWHL Montreal's training facility in house, it's a fantastic situation.

3. Mattamy Athletic Centre, Toronto, Ontario

Capacity: 2,638
If the WNBA's foray into downtown Toronto was any indication, tickets for PWHL Toronto will be in hot demand in Toronto. Mattamy is currently owned and utilized by Toronto Metropolitan University, so finding opportunities to collaboratively brand within the arena will be a point of discussion, but Mattamy has the most history of any PWHL facility as the former home to the Toronto Maple Leafs when the rink was known as Maple Leaf Gardens. Last year the facility played host to the PHF All-Star Game, and you could see how perfect it would be for professional women's hockey. The capacity could quickly become an issue, but when Mattamy is full, it will be one of the best arenas in the league. It's been modernized in many ways, and the location in Toronto, entrenched into hockey lore in the city is perfect.

4. Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota

Capacity: 17,954
Some will say the arena is "too big," but the team will almost certainly sell only lower bowl seating to improve the atmosphere. It's a tactic many clubs have used at similar venues that aren't the primary tenant of a facility. Xcel is located in the heart of St. Paul, it's accessible, and it has built in marketing through the NHL's Minnesota Wild to showcase the PWHL to potential fans under the same roof. Shared branding is a significant concern as the PWHL will need to seek on-ice logos and in arena graphics. As well, Minnesota Wild officials are currently lobbying for more than $300 million in needed upgrades to the facility. How that process impacts the PWHL will be a point to follow.

5. Tsongas Center, Lowell, Massachussetts

Capacity 6,003
Located along Lowell's Riverwalk on the UMass Lowell campus, and next to Lowell's National Historic Park, the Tsongas Center is centrally located...in Lowell. Lowell itself however is a city of just over 115,000 people that can take anywhere between 35 minutes to well over an hour to reach from Boston depending on traffic. Getting to the rink for true Bostonians will be a concern, and a detriment to attendance. You can get to Lowell from Boston's North Station via train, but it's more than a 40 minute ride. One thing is true for Boston fans, they're dedicated and will likely make the trip. Tsongas is a great facility, with the perfect amount of seating. It will just be about building a fan base not only in Boston, but in Lowell as well, as this location will be inaccessible to a large chunk of Boston's population.

6. Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut

Capacity 10,000
Let's get the obvious out of the way: this arena is not in New York, but it will house PWHL New York. Bridgeport has struggled to draw fans for the AHL's Islanders, and adding another draw into the building could either benefit both, or hurt both. The existing issue will be Connecticut's lack of support for professional women's hockey. Prior to the PHF being acquired, the Connecticut Whale were actively looking to relocate, and there's a good chance that would have been outside of the state. The team had the least community support, despite a strong roster, and failed to carve out a devoted fan base in the region. The arena itself is fine, but as they say, "location, location, location," and it's hard to love this location. That said, the WNBA's Connecticut Sun have managed to build a fan base that averaged over 6200 people per game in 2023. PWHL New York will need to do the same battling brand confusion with their name, and a location well outside their biggest population base.