Ticket sales in Canada are booming for the PWHL's season openers and neutral site games, while American markets are all showing above average responses early.
Ticket sales in Canada are booming for the PWHL's season openers and neutral site games, while American markets are all showing above average responses early.
Fans who may be waiting until closer to puck drop to secure PWHL tickets for certain games may be out of luck as ticket sales are booming for select games, including the Canadian stops on the PWHL's Takeover Tour.
Looking at the Edmonton stop, featuring a game between the Ottawa Charge and Toronto Sceptres on February 16, only six tickets remain in the lower bowl, and spattering of upper deck tickets concentrated at one end of the rink. More than 17,000 of the Rogers Place's 18,347 seats have been sold.
The PWHL's game in Vancouver January 8 between the Sceptres and Montreal Victoire continues to state it is sold out with only ticket resale options available at the 19,700 seat Rogers Arena.
In Quebec City, where a neutral site game between the Charge and Victoire will take place on January 19 at the Videotron Centre, more than 17,000 tickets appear to have been sold with roughly 600 seats remaining at the venue.
It's clear the three Canadian markets included on the nine city PWHL Takeover Tour are excited to bring professional women's hockey to their markets. The tour is not only an opportunity for the league to grow their fan base, but is also the league's primary test run for the markets included to gauge interest in expansion ahead of the 2024-25 season.
American markets are seeing varied responses early. Last year Detroit set a new all-time professional women's hockey attendance record drawing 13,736 for their neutral site game, and again the Motor City is going to open the doors of Little Caesars Arena for the PWHL. With only the lower bowl currently open, the game has sold roughly 7000 tickets thus far, which remains one of the stronger outputs from an American market this season.
Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena is keeping pace with Detroit. The lower bowl remains the only option in Seattle as well and the city has also set attendance records for women's hockey attendance including the USA national team record on home soil of 14,551 in 2022. The market has sold less than half that number to date for their PWHL debut, but they remain one of the top American markets for women's hockey fans.
The third American market selling well is Denver. While it trails behind Detroit and Seattle, Denver has shown a strong response for their January 12 PWHL game featuring the Minnesota Frost taking on Montreal.
Looking at the remaining three markets, St. Louis is the top performer in the group.
Where the PWHL still has significant work to do on the ticket sales front are the games scheduled for Raleigh, North Carolina, and Buffalo, New York. At the moment, neither market looks like they'll come close to filling their lower bowl with large blocks of unsold seats remaining. The games are two of the PWHL's later Takeover Tour dates with Buffalo in the final week of February and Raleigh in the first week of March, but early sales in those markets, are unlikely to inspire PWHL expansion.
What about the PWHL's home venues?
At the Coca-Cola Coliseum, just over 200 tickets remain for the Toronto Sceptres' November 30 home opener against the Boston Fleet. The Sceptres moved to the venue leaving Mattamy Athletic Centre after selling out each of their home games last season before the year began. A rough estimate for Toronto's home opener looks like the team has sold around 7,500 of Coca-Cola's 7,779 seats.
One of the more surprising gaps in the PWHL's early ticket sales thus far, albeit a small one, is the response in Ottawa, where the Ottawa Charge led the league last season averaging 7,496. The team is still selling close to that average for their home opener with roughly 600 seats remaining, but sell outs became the expectation in Ottawa last year.
In Montreal, the Victoire have roughly 9,500 tickets sold for their November 30 home opener against the Charge after moving from the undersized Verdun Auditorium to the 10,062 seat Place Bell.
Looking at the PWHL's American markets, things are notably slower. Minnesota leads the way looking like they're on page to match or surpass their season average of 7,138 for their home opener with roughly 1,000 seats remaining in the lower bowl for their December 1 home opener, which will also feature a banner raising ceremony in recognition of their inaugural Walter Cup title.
Boston looks to have broken the 5,000 seat mark for their home opener, which is an uptick from their season average of 3,770 last season at Lowell's Tsongas Center.
The New York Sirens who averaged only 2,496 fans across three separate venues last season are selling above that average for their home opener at New Jersey's Prudential Center. The league however, has only opened half the lower bowl at the arena, where hundreds of tickets still remain.
Overall, the PWHL's second season looks as though it will open with a net positive in attendance, specifically due to more neutral site games and increased capacities in Toronto and Montreal. They are positive signs ahead of year two for the league.