THN's Big Show discusses the eight neutral site PWHL games announced as part of their PWHL Takeover Tour Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena with the city's skyline in the backdrop. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwODU5NTk0ODQxMzM1Nzg1/seattle-skyline-and-climate-pledge-arena.jpg] Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena with the city's skyline in the backdrop. The City of Seattle has a history of supporting women's hockey [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/other-news/royalettes-knitters-and-vamps-uncovering-more-of-seattles-womens-hockey-history]. From the 1917 Seattle Hockeyettes, who included teams like the Metettes and Glacier Girls, to the University of Washington team in 1920. In 1921 the Seattle Vamps hit the ice facing teams from Canada, and in the 1930s the Seattle Royalettes and Octonek Knitters hit the ice for a series of games. In 2022, Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena set an attendance record for the largest crowd to see a national team game on American soil with 14,551 fans watching USA defeat Canada 4-2. On January 5, 2025, the City of Seattle will have an opportunity to break the all-time American attendance record for a professional women's hockey game, set last season in Detroit, when the PWHL's Montreal Victoire and Boston Fleet face-off on the league's first stop of their PWHL Takeover Tour. According to Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, the City is ready for the moment, and excited to add another piece to their support for professional women's sport. "We are thrilled to welcome the Professional Women’s Hockey League to our city as part of the 2025 Takeover Tour," Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell wrote to The Hockey News. "Seattle is home to several first-rate professional women’s sports teams – from the Storm to Seattle Reign FC – and our fans appreciate the talent and exciting atmosphere the athletes bring to each and every game. We know fans will bring the same enthusiasm to this match between Montreal and Boston." For Seattle, it's also an opportunity to showcase their state-of-the-art facility, Climate Pledge Arena, and also to make their pitch to the PWHL for expansion. "These two teams will face off at Climate Pledge Arena, a world-class venue that is home to the Storm, the Kraken, and some of the world’s biggest performers," Harrell wrote. "This will be a great opportunity to show the PWHL that Seattle is a great place to live, work, and recreate, and is one of the best sports towns in the country. We are excited to welcome them to our city and we would welcome their possible expansion to Seattle." Currently, the PWHL is located only in Eastern Canada and the Midwest and Eastern United States with teams in Minnesota, Boston, and New York, along with Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa. Earlier this Fall the PWHL discussed their plans to expand in time for the 2025-26 season [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/pwhl-set-to-expand-by-two-teams-for-2025-2026-season] by up to two teams. According to the PWHL's senior vice president of business operations [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/eight-cities-to-host-stops-on-the-pwhl-takeover-tour-including-west-coast], Amy Scheer, the PWHL Takeover Tour is not only a prime opportunity for the league to grow their fan base, but also to assess potential expansion sites. "The PWHL Takeover Tour lets us showcase our game and exceptional athletes across a wider North American footprint—an exciting moment for our players and an important move for our business as we consider expansion,” Scheer said in a league press release. Along with Seattle, the PWHL will also visit Vancouver, Edmonton and Denver, this season as potential expansion sites farther West than the league's current footprint. The Boston Fleet and Montreal Victoire play at Sunday, January 5 at 4pm at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
