The PWHL is officially expanding to Las Vegas and Hamilton, Ont., for the 2026-27 season, the league announced Wednesday.
The Las Vegas franchise, which The Athletic reported on Tuesday, will play its home games at T-Mobile Arena, home of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. The rink has a capacity of 17,500 for hockey and boasts one of the best atmospheres in the NHL. Hamilton will play at TD Coliseum, which recently underwent a $300 million renovation.
Vegas and Hamilton follow Detroit as part of the PWHL’s second wave of expansion, which could include a fourth franchise. The three new teams will join the league’s eight current markets in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, Boston, Minnesota, New York and Seattle.
The PWHL hosted a successful neutral-site game in Hamilton in January, with 16,012 fans at TD Coliseum — the third-largest “Takeover Tour” crowd of the season. There is a school of thought that a team in Hamilton could siphon support from the league’s Toronto franchise, which plays just 40 miles from TD Coliseum. However, according to the league’s press release, over 70 percent of Hamilton’s “Takeover Tour” ticket buyers purchased their first-time PWHL game ticket, “underscoring the league’s opportunity to reach a distinct audience,” even with two other teams located in Ontario.
There’s a chance Hamilton could draw some Toronto Sceptres fans from the Greater Toronto Area, but the city is also within commuting distance from southern Ontario cities such as St. Catharines, Kitchener, Waterloo and London.
“The response we saw during our Takeover Tour game at TD Coliseum made it clear that fans in the region are ready to rally around a team of their own,” said Jayna Hefford, the PWHL’s executive vice president of hockey operations.
Hamilton’s expansion effort was made in partnership with Oak View Group, which operates TD Coliseum, and the city of Hamilton. The league will continue to operate under its single-entity ownership model, where Mark Walter — the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers — and his wife, Kimbra, own the PWHL and all of its teams.
Expanding to Las Vegas is somewhat of a departure from the norm for the PWHL, which launched its first three expansion teams in markets that were part of the “Takeover Tour.” Still, according to Amy Scheer, the league’s executive vice president of business operations, “Las Vegas is ready to welcome and champion a PWHL team of its own.”
Las Vegas has rapidly become a hub for major professional sports. According to the PWHL’s press release, since the Golden Knights’ inaugural season in 2017, youth hockey participation in Nevada has surged, particularly among girls and women, by 600 percent.
“From the staggering growth of youth hockey participation to the passionate support for the Golden Knights and Aces,” said Scheer, “the Las Vegas community has enthusiastically embraced both hockey and women’s sports.”
The PWHL’s expansion to Vegas also widens the league’s footprint to the American Southwest. According to the release, the city’s accessibility, hospitality infrastructure and world-class facilities make Vegas a “strong long-term fit for the PWHL.” The Golden Knights and MGM Resorts International, which is a part owner of T-Mobile Arena, supported the league’s expansion efforts to Vegas.
“The arrival of the PWHL in Vegas is a milestone for women’s hockey and our entire community,” said John Penhollow, the Vegas Golden Knights president of business operations. “We’re proud of how far youth hockey has come locally, and even more excited about the path forward and opportunities ahead for future generations.”
As part of Wednesday’s announcement, the league revealed each team’s official colors and said team names and logos will be announced at a later date. Hamilton’s team colors will be gold, maroon and cream; Vegas will wear green and gold.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Toronto Sceptres, Minnesota Frost, Vancouver Goldeneyes, New York Sirens, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Seattle Torrent, Boston Fleet, Women’s Hockey, NHL, women’s sports
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