Detroit boosts bid for PWHL expansion team by drawing U.S. record crowd for pro women

Larry Lage · The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 17, 2025 5:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Young women, among those successful a record-breaking crowd, held up signs with messages for the Professional Women's Hockey League.

"PWHL DETROIT NEEDS A TEAM," was printed connected 1 broadside of the signs.

The six-team PWHL whitethorn grow adjacent season, successful its 3rd year, and is touring cities perchance connected the database to get successful the game.

Detroit tried to amended its chances of landing a team, drafting 14,288 fans Sunday nighttime to interruption the attendance grounds for a nonrecreational women's hockey crippled successful the United States arsenic New York bushed Minnesota 4-1 astatine Little Caesars Arena.

The crippled was portion of the PWHL's Takeover Tour of imaginable enlargement venues, and its latest halt was a hit, a twelvemonth aft 13,736 fans watched women play nonrecreational hockey connected the aforesaid expanse of crystal astatine the location of the Detroit Red Wings.

As awesome arsenic the turnout has been successful Detroit for a brace of PWHL games, it has competition.

Denver drew 14,018 fans, galore breaking retired successful chants of "We privation a team!" to acceptable the erstwhile U.S. grounds for a nonrecreational women's hockey crippled 2 months agone successful different neutral-site game.

Besides Denver, others successful the moving see Seattle, Vancouver and Quebec, with the PWHL expected to denote a determination by aboriginal April.

"Everything's a competition," Frost guardant Kendall Coyne Schofield said. "It's awesome to see, but I deliberation it besides speaks to the request and however this has been a agelong clip coming.

"With the due support, resources, concern and platform, thing is possible."

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The satellite attendance grounds for women's hockey was acceptable astir a twelvemonth agone erstwhile 21,105 radical were successful the stands for a PWHL crippled betwixt Montreal and Toronto successful the Canadiens' arena.

To spot Canadian arenas merchantability retired is 'surreal'

During the archetypal play of the Frost-Sirens crippled successful Detroit, the PWHL announced much than 1 cardinal fans person attended games since the league made its debut past season. Players from some teams gave fans successful the stands pucks that commemorated the milestone.

"Sometimes, I don't judge it's real," PWHL enforcement vice-president Amy Scheer said. "When we started past year, we didn't truly cognize what to expect. To beryllium present 16, 17 months aboriginal and to interruption the U.S grounds [for a pro women's hockey game], to spot the Canadian arenas merchantability out, it's surreal.

"The hockey, each crippled is unbelievable. I deliberation connected the concern side, we're putting connected a large amusement for the fans. The fans admit it and it's truly humbling."

Scheer has been cautious to not supply immoderate hint regarding which of the 20-plus markets the league expressed involvement successful arsenic starring the pack. She maintained that marketplace size, imaginable enactment and opportunities to scope partnerships with section businesses are being weighed equally.

Geography besides isn't considered an contented for a league with 3 teams each successful the U.S. (New York, Boston and Minnesota) and Canada (Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto), and concentrated successful the northeast but for Minnesota.

It whitethorn beryllium advantageous for the league to adhd 2 U.S. teams to assistance pull a U.S. TV rights woody beyond the determination deals it has now, including a YouTube streaming agreement.

The league's six teams are centrally run, and that volition stay the lawsuit for the foreseeable future. Several backstage parties person approached the PWHL astir owning teams outright but person been turned down.

St. Louis is hosting the ninth and last halt of the Takeover Tour connected March 29 erstwhile the Ottawa Charge look the Boston Fleet.

The regular play ends May 3 and the puck drops connected the PWHL's 2nd post-season the pursuing week.

Expansion was placed connected the array past fall, with the league cautious to denote it was considering expanding by arsenic galore arsenic 2 teams, and Scheer continuing to accidental it whitethorn beryllium constricted to 1 oregon none.

"We've done our homework and probe and hopefully we'll find retired what that reply is implicit the adjacent respective weeks," she said. "In a cleanable world, I'd emotion to cognize thing successful the adjacent mates of weeks. When the committee decides, they'll fto america know."