The PWHL made it clear many times this year: facilities are their first look for when it comes to expansion. They want their players in professional venues, with professional practice and training facilities.
When it came time for the league's first expansion, the vacant Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver was a significant step forward for the PWHL as it becomes the league's only arena where a PWHL team is the primary tenant. It means PWHL Vancouver will have their choice of dates and times for their schedule without interference, they'll have a pro level dedicated locker room, their practice facility is on-site, and they can add their branding to the ice and arena without reserve.
In Seattle, the league selected Climate Pledge Arena, which is currently shared by the NHL's Seattle Kraken and WNBA's Seattle Storm. It's not an ideal situation, but it's workable, and Climate Pledge is a world class venue.
With their eyes on more primary venues, or at the very least venues where the team won't be playing only weeknight games, here's a look at two markets and venues the PWHL should consider in Canada, followed by the opposite: two markets the league may look to avoid.
Two Canadian Cities Perfect For PWHL Expansion
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton's completely refurbished Hamilton Arena will be a state of the art facility without a primary hockey tenant when it reopens this fall. Formerly Copps Coliseum, the venue has housed AHL and OHL teams, but the 17,383-seat arena would be the ideal location for a PWHL team given the fact the NHL will never come to Hamilton. It would create an immense rivalry with Toronto, as the teams would be a mere 63 km apart from home venue to home venue. Hamilton has 600,000 residents, and there's another 600,000 less than an hour from the city heading toward Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge. When you look in all directions, there are millions of potential fans within an hour of the city. The league would be foolish not to look seriously at Hamilton.
Quebec City, Quebec
Quebec City was a frontrunner for a PWHL team from day one, not only because the province of Quebec has proven itself as supportive of women's hockey at all levels, but also because of the Videotron Centre. The 18,259 fans in attendance at the city's sold out PWHL Takeover Tour game showed the city is ready and waiting for a pro hockey team. Forget the NHL, Quebec City has repeatedly made it clear they want a PWHL team. With a metropolitan area of nearly 900,000 people, this is a market that can, and will, support this league.
Other Potential Markets: London, Ontario; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Windsor, Ontario; Kitchener, Ontario.
Two Canadian Cities That Aren't A PWHL Fit
Calgary, Alberta
People keep touting Calgary as a prime location for PWHL expansion, and the city itself would be a fit, but where would a team play? There is no arena in Calgary for a PWHL team to call home. The Scotiabank Saddledome, the only arena in the city with an NHL-sized ice surface and enough seating is already home to the NHL's Calgary Flames, AHL's Calgary Wranglers, WHL's Calgary Hitmen, CEBL's Calgary Hitmen, and NLL's Calgary Roughnecks. All of their seasons fully or partially overlap with the PWHL schedule. Adding a sixth tenant to the venue is impractical unless fans want to watch a pro sports team play at 9 am on a Sunday. Some have stated WinSport Arena is a fit, but it just isn't. The league can't pin themselves to a 3,500 seat venue with an international ice surface. It's not professional, nor is the 2,100 seat Max Bell Centre. If a team lands in Edmonton, Calgary could be a fun location for an annual game or two, and the same could be said about Lethbridge, Red Deer, and Medicine Hat. which all have more appropriate arenas than Calgary.
Winnipeg, Manitoba
The Canada Life Centre has a similar issue to that in Calgary. Winnipeg is a great hockey community, and has a century-long history of championship women's hockey teams. The venue already features the NHL's Winnipeg Jets, AHL's Manitoba Moose, and CEBL's Winnipeg Sea Bears. It could conceivably work in Winnipeg, but with weeknight home games being the only real possibility. Last season in December, January, and February, there were only three Sunday dates, and no Saturday dates available. If the league wanted to commit to playing on Wednesday nights, Canada Life Centre was almost always open mid-week. Would it work? The first order of business would be testing Winnipeg through a PWHL Takeover Tour game. Until then, Winnipeg remains well down the list.