PWHL chooses Vancouver as 1st expansion city with 2nd market to be determined: reports
CBC
The PWHL's 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 "historic announcement for sport in Vancouver and British Columbia." 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: "We're continuing to finalize decisions related to expansion and look forward to sharing more details soon."
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 to expand by as many as two franchises.
The decision to select Vancouver meets several key criteria for the women's pro league founded by Dodgers owner Mark Walter, who serves as the PWHL's financial backer, and tennis icon Billie Jean King in June 2023.
Aside from being a large market, the region has a growing girls' hockey base, which was evident in January, when a PWHL neutral site game in Vancouver drew a sellout crowd of 19,038 — 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 — New York, Boston, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto — based in the northeast, and one in St. Paul, Minnesota.
PWHL officials have privately expressed concern of a start-up pro women's 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 women's teams, the WNBA Storm and NWSL Reign FC. The PWHL's neutral site game in Seattle in January drew a crowd of 12,608.
Other potential markets include Denver, Detroit and Quebec City, though it's more likely the PWHL would desire a second expansion team based in the U.S.
The PWHL's nine-city Takeover Tour of neutral games this season drew 123,601 fans in helping the league top the 1 million mark in attendance last month.
This is an excerpt from The Buzzer, which is CBC Sports' daily email newsletter. Stay up to speed on what's happening in sports by subscribing here.
Canada’s newly named ski jumping team has high hopes heading into the Milano-Cortina Winter Games — and that has a lot to do with Abi Strate.
Keep this in mind about the Enhanced Games, the multi-sport event in which doping is somewhere between allowed and encouraged, and which debuts in Las Vegas in May:
The Ottawa Charge and the PWHL expansion Vancouver Goldeneyes shook up their rosters by completing a six-player trade on Sunday night.
Without a moment’s hesitation, unflinching really, legendary swimming coach Bob Bowman jumped to his answer when asked if the many comparisons made between the greatest swimmer ever — Michael Phelps — and Canadian swimming sensation Summer McIntosh were warranted and fair.
Canada scored three times in the first 5:12 of the game and then coasted to an 8-1 win over the Czech Republic in the under-18 women's world hockey championship semifinals on Saturday in Sydney, N.S.
Snowboard cross racer Éliot Grondin climbed the podium of a World Cup event on Saturday in Dongbeiya, China.
Mark McMorris and Laurie Blouin are among the six athletes that have been named to Canada's Olympic snowboard slopestyle and big air team.
Aside from having unwavering determination, athletic talent and superhuman health, to become an Olympian requires devoting virtually all of one's time to pursuing sport.
Isabelle Weidemann is determined to repeat as Olympic champion with fellow Canadian speed skaters Ivanie Blondin and Valérie Maltais in women’s team pursuit, but the long track veteran isn't simply seeking a medal from the experience in Milan Cortina.
Canada's skeleton team have been cleared of wrongdoing after an investigation into the withdrawal of four athletes from last week's North American Cup in Lake Placid, the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) said on Thursday.
Jesse Marsch, the head coach of Canada’s men’s soccer team, wants to extend his contract before the start of the World Cup in June.
The Winter Olympics and Paralympics have, for decades, been a celebration of snow, cold and mountains — a global showcase for sports built on reliable winter conditions.