The PWHL Takeover Tour was a smashing success in 2024-25. The league saw new American attendance records in Denver, and then in Detroit, and eventually, two of the cities visited, Seattle and Vancouver, were selected for PWHL expansion.
The league will continue to use the PWHL Takeover Tour as a means to market and grow their reach, as well as to test new markets for future expansion. As the PWHL has stated, this year’s expansion was just the first step in a multi-year plan.
The PWHL will continue to use the Takeover Tour to test markets, and could also return to top locations like they did in Detroit this year. Here’s a look at five markets the PWHL should visit in 2025-26.
Las Vegas
If the PWHL wants to go West, Vegas would make another logical move, especially if the league also adds Denver or Los Angeles in the future. Currently the league has not stretched south, but they may look that direction soon. The president of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights stated they wanted to be part of the PWHL and building the women’s hockey league and reach. The Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA are extremely popular and the Golden Knights are one of the hottest tickets in town. Speaking of tickets, Vegas is all about shows, events, and sports. The league would have ample opportunity to partner with various hotels to get tickets into the hands of fans and visitors. Whether it’s T-Mobile Arena, or the league looked at Grand Garden Arena or Orleans Arena, there are plenty of options.
Hamilton
Two teams in a market? It’s relatively normal in many sports. In the NHL, New York has the Islanders, Rangers, and Devils in a small radius. The NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets even share a stadium. You could look at the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers, or MLB’s Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs. Why not women’s sports? Hamilton is set to unveil a completely refurbished Hamilton Arena will be a state of the art facility without a primary hockey tenant. Formerly Copps Coliseum, the venue has housed AHL and OHL teams, but the 17,383 seat venue could become home to a new PWHL team. It would create an immense rivalry with Toronto, as the teams would be a mere 63 km apart from home venue to home venue. Numerous investors have tried to bring an NHL team to Hamilton, and with a practically brand new venue sitting empty, the PWHL could swoop in and fill the house. With the arena scheduled to open in November 2025, a Takeover Tour game could showcase the draw.
Chicago
The Chicago Mission and Windy City Storm are two strong girls hockey programs out of Chicago, and the city is ripe with opportunity as one of the biggest markets in the United States. It’s also another bridge city between east and west if the PWHL continues to expand. The United Center, which houses the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and NBA’s Chicago Bulls is one of the busiest in the nation, which presents issues, but the city also has Allstate Arena, a 16,692 arena in Rosemont near O’Hare International Airport with only the AHL’s Chicago Wolves as tenants.
Columbus
When you’re in the same city as the Ohio State Buckeyes women’s hockey team, there will be inherent interest in the game. Ohio State is a factory for PWHL players, and Nationwide Arena, home to the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, could host another tenant. If the league isn’t going to go to Michigan, why not their neighbours to the south?
Los Angeles/Anaheim
There’s no better time than now to test the waters in Los Angeles. There are so many arenas in the region whether you stretch to Anaheim, or keep it more centralized. With Mark Walter located in the city, it only makes sense that there is a look at Los Angeles. California remains a growing women’s hockey state and has a long history with the sport. If West Coast expansion is to continue, it would be hard to ignore the market forever. It would be interesting to see if the league could negotiate use of the Kia Forum in Inglewood which remains vacant from pro sport. The Honda Center, home of the Anaheim Ducks is another possible location with only the Ducks calling the arena home. It might prompt the league to call a future team by “California” rather than picking a city as they did with Minnesota.
Milwaukee
Why not test run a team in Wisconsin? With no hockey tenant at the 15,178 seat Fiserv Forum, it’s possible the PWHL could house a team here. Only an hour from Madison where the Wisconsin Badgers continue to reign supreme, the pool of potential fans is larger than Milwaukee itself. The state is known for the sport, and women’s hockey goes hand in hand with Wisconsin. It would also be another bridge to the West.
Other Cities To Consider: Dallas, Nashville, Halifax, Saskatoon, Portland, London, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay
Markets To Return To: Quebec City, Denver, Detroit, Edmonton