PWHL adding expansion teams in Las Vegas and Hamilton, Ontario, with 1 more coming to reach 12
The PWHL delivered a double-shot of expansion news on Wednesday, announcing it is bringing women’s pro hockey to the distinctly different markets of Las Vegas and Hamilton, Ontario. And in now growing to 11 teams, there’s one more addition still to come to make it an even dozen for a league preparing to double in size since launching with six franchises in 2024 . The Las Vegas team will be formally introduced at a news conference at the Vegas Golden Knights’ home arena later Wednesday, with Hamilton to follow on Thursday, the PWHL said.
“There’s a lot of excitement and adrenaline and a lot of 'Let’s go,'” league executive vice president of business operations Amy Scheer told The Associated Press about an expansion process that began with the addition of Detroit last week . “We’re stoked and we’re proud of how far we’ve come in a short time,” she added. “But, the work starts now, right?
It’s wonderful to make announcements. But that’s really when the real work comes, and the proof is in the pudding. ” Las Vegas forges new ground by introducing the PWHL to America's Southwest, a year after the league expanded into the Pacific Northwest by adding Seattle and Vancouver.
“We do need to geographically expand past the northeast and the north in general,” Scheer said. “So that’s part of the plan as we start to branch out: What are the right markets that make sense to obviously become a little bit more geographically diverse. ” With San Jose, California, and Denver in the running to become the next expansion market, the PWHL would be in position to break off into either two six-team conferences or three four-team divisions based on geographical proximity.
The league’s original six franchises are New York, Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Minnesota. Hamilton becomes Ontario's third franchise, and further expands the PWHL’s reach across the province's densely populated "Golden Horseshoe" region, without drawing fans away from Toronto, located 42 miles (68 kilometers) to the east. A league neutral site outing in Hamilton in January drew 16,012 fans, with Scheer saying 70% of the turnout had never previously attended a PWHL game.