PWHL announces Seattle for 2nd
expansion franchise, plans to add 2 more by 2026-27, AP source says
[May 01, 2025]
By JOHN WAWROW
The PWHL is expanding to eight teams next season by adding Seattle
as its second new franchise alongside Vancouver, and The Associated
Press has learned that plans already are in the works to add two
more in a year’s time.
Seattle’s addition, announced Wednesday, gives the PWHL a strong
foothold in the Pacific Northwest and comes a week after the
unveiling of the new team in Vancouver for the 2025-26 season. The
westward move broadens the league’s reach across North America,
pairs two markets separated by a three-hour drive and captures
Seattle's history of supporting women’s sports.
Seattle will now be home to three women’s pro sports leagues, with
the PWHL team joining the WNBA's Storm and NWSL's Reign. And it was
fitting for Storm star Skylar Diggins to open the news conference
and formally welcome women's hockey.
“This city takes incredible pride in its women’s sports teams. We
show up for one another. We support each other and we help build
this community together,” Diggins said. “I know Seattle fans will
embrace you guys with the same passion and pride as they’ve done for
us. So welcome to the family, PWHL. Let’s get it.”
Amy Scheer, the PWHL's executive vice president of business
operations, referred to Seattle as the “capital of women’s sports,”
and recognized the numerous female owners and executives of the
Storm, Reign and NHL's Kraken in attendance.
“We’re here because of you, and you’ve made this possible for us, so
thank you for paving the way,” Scheer said.
As for pairing Seattle and Vancouver, Scheer told the AP earlier
that the geography “made a ton of sense,” and the league hoped the
two would establish a natural rivalry. “But most importantly is they
met all the criteria in terms of what we were looking for,” she
added.
The two-team expansion for Season 3 is only the beginning for a
league that launched in January 2024 with five Eastern franchises —
Boston, New York, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto — and one in St.
Paul, Minnesota.
The PWHL plans to grow to 10 teams for its 2026-27 season, a person
with knowledge of discussions told the AP, speaking on condition of
anonymity because the talks were to remain private. The person said
the league is accelerating its plans based on the strength of
responses and feedback received during its eight-month expansion
search in which the PWHL considered more than 20 markets.
Scheer didn’t entirely dispute the plan, without providing an exact
timetable.
“I think we’ve been pretty clear from the outset that this is the
first year of a multiyear process,” Scheer said as the PWHL closes
the final week of the regular season. “It could come in Year 4. It
could come Year 5. I think that those conversations are still being
had.”
Neutral-site stops this season in Denver, Detroit, Quebec City and
Edmonton each topped 14,000 fans.
The new team initially will go by PWHL Seattle and its colors will
be emerald green and cream. The team will play in the Kraken’s
Climate Pledge Arena and practice at the Kraken Community Iceplex.
Though all PWHL teams are centrally controlled by the league,
Seattle’s expansion bid was led by the Kraken and the Oak View
Group, which developed and operates Climate Pledge Arena.
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A fan holds up a sign during a press conference announcing the
newest PWHL team at Climate Pledge Arena, Wednesday, April 30, 2025,
in Seattle. (Jennifer Buchanan/The Seattle Times via AP)
Oak View has longtime ties to women’s hockey and
expressed interest in landing an original six franchise when the
league was established in June 2023 by Los Angeles Dodgers owner
Mark Walter, his wife, Kimbra, and tennis icon Billie Jean King.
Seattle features a growing youth hockey program and
previously showed support for women’s hockey. In November 2022,
Seattle drew a U.S.-Canada Rivalry Series record crowd of 14,551. In
January, the PWHL drew a crowd of 12,608 in Seattle when kicking off
its nine-game Takeover Tour of neutral-site games.
“Seattle is an incredible sports city and we’ve seen firsthand the
passion for the women’s game,” Kraken owner Samantha Holloway said.
“We’re also proud to grow the game of hockey ... and together we’ll
continue to inspire the next generation of hockey players and fans
alike.”
Jayna Hefford, the PWHL's executive vice president of hockey
operations, noted women’s hockey in the region dates to 1921, when
the Seattle Vamps and Vancouver Amazons competed in what’s believed
to be women’s hockey’s first international tournament.
“A new chapter of this Pacific Northwest rivalry begins now,”
Hefford said. “We’re not just honoring that history. We are
reigniting it.”
The PWHL plans to announce later the date of an expansion draft and
how Vancouver and Seattle will be integrated into its entry draft on
June 24. The league also has yet to determine if it will expand its
playoff field from four and whether to adopt a divisional format of
four teams each.
The PWHL’s accelerated expansion plans coincide with a deep pool of
college talent anticipated to enter the league over the next two
years. The league’s growth also is expected to lure more Europeans
to North America.
“Upon launch, you’ve got six teams and maybe if you’re not North
American, you don’t know really what to expect,” Hefford said. “Now
I think these players are seeing that this league is here, it’s
thriving, it’s growing, and they are going to want to be a part of
it.”
Scheer was impressed by the response when overseeing the expansion
search.
“I feel more encouraged than ever about what our business looks like
and what our business can be,” she said. “As we look to expand and
move beyond Year 3, we’ll have plenty of suitors along the way as we
look to grow.”
___
AP Sports Writer Andrew Destin in Seattle contributed to this
report.
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