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The PWHL will play neutral-site games in six different Canadian cities this season as the league plans to add new teams as early as next season.
For the second straight season, the eight-team league will play in Quebec (Jan. 11, Vancouver vs. Montreal) and Edmonton (Dec. 27, Minnesota vs. Vancouver and April 6, Boston vs. Vancouver).
The league's Takeover Tour also added four new Canadian cities this season: Halifax (December 17, Toronto vs. Montreal and January 11, Ottawa vs. Boston), Hamilton (January 3, Seattle vs. Toronto), Winnipeg (March 22, Montreal vs. Ottawa) and Calgary (April 1, Toronto vs. Ottawa).
Last season, more than 123,000 fans attended games on the nine-stage Takeover Tour. This included games in Vancouver and Seattle, which the league selected as two expansions ahead of the upcoming season.
This time, the league will play 16 neutral-site games across 11 North American venues.
Some of these could become the PWHL's next expansion markets, as the league has made it clear that adding teams in Vancouver and Seattle was the first step in expanding the league's footprint.
“We're looking to expand at least two to four teams next year,” PWHL executive vice-president of business operations Amy Shear told Ottawa city councilors last month. “We are in growth mode. This league is growing rapidly.”
Games in Quebec City and Edmonton sold out last season.
Officials in Quebec, in particular, were open about wanting a PWHL team to play at the Videotron Center, an arena intended for an NHL team that never showed up. Infrastructure has been a major factor in determining where the PWHL locates its teams.
The game in Quebec sold out last season to more than 18,000 fans. Most were rooting for Montreal Victoire, which would be a natural rival to PWHL team Quebec City.
Martin Tremblay, president of Gestev, which operates the city's Videotron centre, said the upcoming season's game would be a “unique opportunity to promote women's hockey.”
“The resounding success of the last game in January, played in front of a sold-out crowd, shows how alive and well the passion for the sport is in our market,” Tremblay said.
Meanwhile, Edmonton was home to a professional women's hockey team in the Western Women's Hockey League, which ceased operations in 2011.
The Edmonton team will help fill out the map between the new west coast teams, the Minnesota Frost and the rest of the east coast based league.
Last season, a game at Rogers Place in Edmonton drew more than 17,500 fans.
Halifax is one of two Canadian cities that will host two games.
This will be the league's first visit to Calgary, but women's hockey has a long history there too. Most recently there was the Calgary Inferno, who played in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Inferno won the last league championship before the league shut down in 2019.
For many years, this was where Canada's hockey team was based in the months leading up to the Olympics. Canada's best female hockey players will live in Calgary, train together and compete for a coveted spot on the Olympic team.
Meanwhile, Halifax has never been home to a professional women's hockey team. But last winter, a game between Team Canada and Team America filled the Scotiabank Center.
It is one of only two Canadian cities to host two games this season, along with Edmonton. They will both be located at the Scotiabank Centre, the downtown arena that is home to the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads and which could be the perfect size for a PWHL team.
The Scotiabank Centre's Instragram account posted welcome videos from a number of officials when the Takeover Tour schedule was announced Monday, including Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore.
“We are the perfect location for this incredible moment in women's hockey,” Houston said.
Outside of Canada, the Takeover Tour will visit Denver, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas and Washington, DC.
PWHL games in both Denver and Detroit have broken U.S. attendance records in recent years, and both will be strong candidates for a PWHL team someday.
“The passion and support of fans, as well as the enthusiasm of cities looking to partner with our league, fuels our ambitions to expand the tour into a third season,” Scheer said in a statement Monday.
Full PWHL Takeover Tour Schedule
- December 17: Montreal – Toronto (Scotiabank Centre, Halifax)
- December 21: Ottawa – Minnesota (Allstate Arena, Chicago)
- December 27: Minnesota – Vancouver (Rogers Place, Edmonton)
- December 28: Seattle – New York (American Airlines Center, Dallas)
- January 3: Seattle – Toronto (TD Coliseum, Hamilton)
- January 3: Vancouver – Boston (Little Caesars Arena, Detroit)
- January 11: Ottawa – Boston (Scotiabank Centre, Halifax)
- January 11: Vancouver – Montreal (Videotron Centre, Quebec)
- January 18: Montreal–New York (Capital One Arena, Washington, DC)
- January 25: Vancouver – Seattle (Ball Arena, Denver)
- March 15: New York – Minnesota (Ball Arena, Denver)
- March 22: Montreal – Ottawa (Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg)
- March 25: New York – Seattle (Allstate Arena, Chicago)
- March 28: New York – Montreal (Little Caesars Arena, Detroit)
- April 1: Toronto – Ottawa (Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary)
- April 7: Boston – Vancouver (Rogers Place, Edmonton)
