The PWHLsa国际传媒 first expansion team will be based in Vancouver with an announcement scheduled for next week, a person with knowledge of the decision confirmed to The Associated Press on Friday.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the league has not revealed its plans. The Province newspaper in Vancouver first reported the city being selected for PWHL expansion.
On hold for now is the league announcing a second expansion city, with Seattle being considered, the person said. The league has other candidates for expansion if discussions break down with officials in Seattle, the person added.
The Vancouver expansion announcement is expected to be made Wednesday, with media invited to attend a press conference billed as being an 鈥渉istoric announcement for sport in Vancouver and British Columbia.鈥 The new team is expected to be based out of the Pacific Coliseum, the former home of the NHL Canucks.
The PWHL declined to verify any details by saying: 鈥淲e鈥檙e continuing to finalize decisions related to expansion and look forward to sharing more details soon.鈥
The six-team league is in the midst of completing its second season and has spent the past six months evaluating more than 20 markets for the potential .
The decision to select Vancouver meets several key criteria for the womensa国际传媒 pro league founded by Dodgers owner Mark Walter, who serves as the PWHLsa国际传媒 financial backer, and tennis icon Billie Jean King in June 2023.
Aside from being a large market, the region has a growing girls鈥 hockey base, which was evident in January, when a PWHL neutral site game in Vancouver drew a sellout crowd of 19,038 鈥 the fourth-largest turnout for a league game.
Geography also plays a factor with the league seeking to broaden its reach across North America. The league currently has five teams 鈥 New York, Boston, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto 鈥 based in the northeast, and one in St. Paul, Minnesota.
PWHL officials have privately expressed concern of a start-up pro womensa国际传媒 league being launched on the west coast.
Adding an expansion team in Seattle would make the most sense in part because of its proximity to Vancouver, while also already home to two pro womensa国际传媒 teams, the WNBA Storm and NWSL Reign FC. The PWHLsa国际传媒 neutral site game in Seattle in January drew a crowd of 12,608.
Other potential markets include Denver, Detroit and Quebec City, though itsa国际传媒 more likely the PWHL would desire a second expansion team based in the U.S.
The PWHLsa国际传媒 of neutral games this season drew 123,601 fans in helping the league top the 1 million mark in attendance last month.
The PWHL's regular season resumes next week 鈥 with each team having three games left 鈥 following a three-week break coinciding with being held in the Czech Republic. The four-team playoffs are set to open in the first week of May.
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AP Womensa国际传媒 Hockey:
