With the start of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (“PWHL”) season last weekend, fans are on the edge of their seats. During their inaugural season each team played 24 games, which has now been expanded to 30 games this year.[2]Fourteen of these matches still do not have a venue listed, and that’s not for lack of interest.[3] As rumors about the expansion of the league continue, a reflection of the growing popularity of women’s sports, the PWHL has already announced their plan to host more neutral site games this season.[4] This strategic move for additional neutral site games is intended to both (1) increase popularity for the sport as well as (2) test out different markets for future expansion teams.
(Hockey) Girl Almighty: Increased Popularity
During their inaugural season, two PWHL teams started their season inside a professional hockey arena.[5] PWHL Minnesota (now, Minnesota Frost) played at Xcel Energy Center located in St. Paul, Minnesota, also home to the National Hockey League’s (“NHL”) Minnesota Wild.[6] Similarly, PWHL New York (now, New York Sirens) split their season between three arenas—two currently hosting NHL teams, UBS Arena located in Belmont, New York, and home to the NHL’s New York Islanders, as well as Prudential Center located in Newark, New Jersey, and home to the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.[7]
This season, more than half the PWHL teams will regularly play in professional arenas. Along with the Minnesota Frost, the New York Sirens announced their primary venue will be the Prudential Center rather than splitting their time between locations.[8] Additionally, PWHL Montréal (now, Montréal Victoire) announced Place Bell as their primary location, located in Laval, Quebec and currently home to the American Hockey League (“AHL”) Laval Rocket.[9] PWHL Toronto (now, Toronto Sceptres) will play at AHL’s Toronto Marlies arena, the Coca-Cola Coliseum which is also intended to become the home court for the Women’s National Basketball Association’s (“WNBA”) Toronto expansion team.[10]
Prior to training camp, each team announced their new identities to shed their city name monikers from the first season.[11] The introduction of the new names further displays the support and fanbases each team is building: Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montréal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, and Toronto Sceptres.[12] These team names and logos open the doors for new merchandise and apparel to help their fans foster community through displaying their support for each team.
Days before the first game of their sophomore season, EA Sports announced that the PWHL teams and players would be added to EA Sports NHL 25.[13] Women’s hockey was first included in the NHL 22 game with the IIHF Women’s National Team players.[14] The next year with NHL 23, Team Canada and Toronto Sceptres forward Sarah Nurse became the first female hockey player to be on the game’s cover.[15] Whether it’s video games or record-breaking attendance, the public has expressed their interest: women’s hockey.
It's a Girl’s World: Public Seeks More
Last season, the PWHL set their U.S. game attendance record with 13,736 attendees in Detroit.[16] Despite not having a team in Detroit, PWHL Boston (now, Boston Fleet) and PWHL Ottawa (now, Ottawa Charge) faced off at Little Caesars Arena for a neutral site game.[17] The legacy of the Detroit Red Wings in Hockeytown encouraged fans to show up and show out, with both Red Wing players and their fanbase attending to display their support for the PWHL.[18] The Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Quebec was announced as the first of fourteen neutral site games this season.[19] Quebec City has also been vocal in their intention to be considered as an expansion team candidate.[20] These neutral site games are key to seeing where the PWHL will plan to expand.
PWHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations, Jayna Hefford, has shared that they are actively exploring the addition of two franchises.[21] Currently, the league and all six teams are owned by Mark Walter, billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and his wife, Kimbra.[22] As expansion is on the table, it also brings up the question of whether the league will maintain their current single-entity ownership model.[23]
The Walters have the means to model the Major League Soccer (MLS) system that also operates as a single entity. [24] Instead of classic owners for teams, investor-operators would allow the PWHL to succeed where prior women’s hockey leagues had failed. MLS was able to expand from 10 teams to 29 under this investor-operators system.[25] This would also allow the league to make decisions based on the potential fan base, facilities, and economic opportunities to support the league as a whole, rather than cater to individual owners.[26]
As the PWHL operates independently from the NHL, even going as far as having different rules for gameplay, being united under the league's umbrella may produce better results for the league.[27] Walter began the PWHL with the intent to create a more sustainable business model for women’s hockey compared to the variety of leagues that tried and failed to establish a market for professional women’s ice hockey over the last couple of decades.[28] Maintaining a model that is not dependent on individual team owners taking initiative ensures that every team is equally supported financially and organizationally.[29] Under this unified approach, Walter’s initial goals can be cultivated to ensure the longevity of the PWHLas the league continues to grow in both popularity and size.
Miss Independent: Separate and Unique from NHL
After Detroit’s success last season, they are at the top of the list as a natural choice for an expansion franchise.[30] Last season, the PWHL played games at various NHL stadiums including the home rinks of the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings.[31]The PWHL has announced eight of the nine venues for the neutral site games this season: Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Ball Arena in Denver, Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Keybank Center in Buffalo, Lenovo Center in Raleigh, Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, and Enterprise Center in St. Louis.[32] Seven of these arenas currently host NHL teams, so the existing facilities and fanbases of these teams seem like the natural location to sponsor a new PWHL team.
With a neutral site game being hosted at Videotron Centre in Quebec City, this over 18,000-seat arena would be an opportunity to redefine the league’s image.[33] While there is merit in utilizing existing NHL resources, teams lose out on the chance to better establish their unique identities. Further, this would allow the PWHL to assert their independence from the NHL, as the league operates wholly independent from their male equivalent.[34] Quebec City does not currently have an NHL team, and not for lack of trying, with both their enthusiasm and interest in obtaining a professional hockey team this could be the opportunity to make a PWHL team the primary team for an arena.[35]
In their first season, PWHL teams often played over the existing team’s home ice including their logo and on-ice partnerships, losing the opportunity to generate additional revenue for their team. This season, the Ottawa Charge logo was added on a smaller scale at the ends of the ice while the existing Ontario Hockey League’s (“OHL”) Ottawa 67’s logo remains large and prominent at center ice.[36] Quebec City would allow the team’s identity to be further defined as a professional hockey team rather by having their logo at center ice and featuring their own on-ice partnerships.
Girls Just Want to Have Hockey: Possible Expansion Locations
As the six teams currently form a northeast geographic bubble, it is likely the expansion will also attempt to slowly grow outwards rather than jump to the south or the west coast. Both Pittsburgh and Detroit had success in demonstrating their cities’ interest in having a women’s hockey team.[37] Pittsburgh had the nineth-highest attendance and Detroit had the highest U.S. attendance across the league’s seventy-two regular season games last year.[38] Their geographic locations also puts them in prime position to connect the current regional gap between Toronto and Minnesota’s teams.[39]
The NHL saw great success in their move to the south, with four of the last five Stanley Cup champions being part of the league’s sunbelt expansion.[40] While the hockey craze in the west and south would support the PWHL expansion as well, the travel and short schedule would make it difficult for the travel compared to the current team locations. Instead, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. would be strong candidates to start the momentum towards a southern expansion.[41] One neutral site location remains unannounced and either the Philadelphia or D.C. market would be an excellent test sites with their existing sports fanbases.
With a record attendance of 21,105 attendees during a rivalry match-up between Toronto and Montreal, the public has expressed their desire for women’s hockey.[42] Prior to the start of this season, the league had sent over 20 proposals for potential new locations.[43] Now it is not a matter of if, but which two cities will join in 2025. Wherever the PWHL expands, this is just the beginning for women’s hockey.
JUHI PATEL (deputy editor-in-chief) is a 2L at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. She self-identifies as an off-brand New York Sports fan rooting on the Islanders, Nets, and Bills. She is a part of the Soccer Negotiation Competition Team and is interested in labor, employment, and intellectual property law.
References:
[1] Photo by April Walker on Unsplash
[2] John Wawrow, Pro Women's Hockey League unveils 90-game schedule that will open Nov. 30 (Oct. 15, 2024) Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/hockey-pwhl-schedule-68da9af6b5b41233bacb3b844a5a4892
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Ian Kennedy, Ranking the PWHL's Six Venues (Nov. 29, 2023) The Hockey News. https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/ranking-the-pwhls-six-venues
[6] Id.
[7] Press Release, New York Sirens Announce Prudential Center as Primary Venue for 2024-25 Season (Sept. 13, 2024) PWHL. https://www.thepwhl.com/en/news/2024/september/13/new-york-sirens-announce-prudential-center-as-primary-venue-for-2024-25-season
[8] Id.
[9] Press Release, PWHL Montreal Announce Place Bell as Primary Venue for 2024-25 Season (Sept. 4, 2024) PWHL. https://www.thepwhl.com/en/news/2024/september/04/pwhl-montr-al-announces-place-bell-as-primary-venue-for-2024-25-season
[10] Id.
[11] Press Release, PWHL Unveils All Six Team Identities Ahead of Second Season (Sept. 9, 2024) PWHL. https://www.thepwhl.com/en/news/2024/september/09/pwhl-unveils-all-six-team-identities-ahead-of-second-season
[12] Id.
[13] Hailey Salvian, EA Sports to add PWHL teams and players to NHL 25 ( Nov. 13, 2024) The Athletic. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5918884/2024/11/13/ea-sports-pwhl-nhl-25-release/
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] Max Bultman, After PWHL's record-setting night in Detroit, could expansion team follow? (Mar. 18, 2024) The Athletic. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5348654/2024/03/18/pwhl-womens-hockey-detroit-expansion/
[17] Id.
[18] Id.
[19] The Canadian Press, PWHL expansion candidate Quebec City to host Victoire-Charge neutral-site game in January (Oct. 30, 2024) CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/pwhl/pwhl-neutral-site-game-montreal-victoire-ottawa-charge-1.7368050
[20] Id.
[21] Hailey Salvian, As PWHL prepares to grow, which cities are top candidates for expansion teams? (Oct. 31, 2024) The Athletic. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5886626/2024/10/31/pwhl-expansion-team-cities/
[22] Id.
[23] Id.
[24] Id.
[25] Id.
[26] Jeff Benson, PWHL Will Add Two Teams in Expansion Move (Oct. 29, 2024) Front Office Sports. https://frontofficesports.com/pwhl-will-add-two-teams-in-expansion-move/#:~:text=One%20of%20those%20will%20be,Centre%2C%20but%20no%20NHL%20team
[27] Hailey Salvian, Everything to know about the PWHL: Rules, storylines and how to watch the 2024-25 season (Nov. 30, 2024) The Athletic. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5957016/2024/11/30/pwhl-schedule-rules-storylines-how-to-watch/
[28] Id.
[29] Id.
[30] See Salvian, supra note 21.
[31] Id.
[32] PWHL, "We're Taking Over!" (Nov. 18, 2024) X, formerly Twitter. https://x.com/thepwhlofficial/status/1858527697099497846
[33] See Benson, supra note 26.
[34] See Salvian, supra note 27.
[35] AP, Quebec City among cities intending to bid for PWHL expansion team (Oct. 30, 2024) Sports Business Journal. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/10/30/pwhl-quebec-city#:~:text=Quebec%20City%20among%20cities%20intending%20to%20bid%20for%20PWHL%20expansion%20team&text=Quebec%20City%20has%20already%20announced,John%20Wawrow%20of%20the%20AP.
[36] Aiden Maher, "Got up to something this past weekend... Ottawa Charge logo added to the ice!" (Nov. 13, 2024) X, formerly Twitter. https://x.com/TheTurfGuy96/status/1856765123718774886
[37] See Benson, supra note 26.
[38] Id.
[39] Id.
[40] Stanley Cup champions, (last accessed Nov. 30, 2024) NHL. https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-stanley-cup-champions-winners-complete-list-287705398
[41] John Wawrow, Could Philly get pro women's hockey team as league expands for 2025-26 season? (Oct. 30, 2024) NBC10 Philadelphia. https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/sports/pro-womens-hockey-expansion/4012622/
[42] Id.
[43] See Salvian, supra note 27.
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