PWHL Announces Possible Expansion

It was always going to be inevitable when it came to the PWHL's operations, but it seems that expansion of the league will happen as early as next season. Sportico's Eben Novy-Williams reported that PWHL Senior Vice President of Business Operations Amy Scheer told her, "It just seems like the right time to look into it. And I think once we have these conversations and understand what the real interest is, we’ll understand if this is the right time or not. But it was the right time to put the word out," so it sounds like the league is close to making expansion a reality. While there is some doubt baked into Scheer's statement, it sounds like the league may increase from six to eight teams in the near future.

According to Novy-Williams, "the PWHL is hoping to evaluate markets on a handful of criteria: 1) market size and media reach, 2) available facilities and infrastructure, 3) local economic opportunity and corporate sponsorship leads, and 4) community fan base and youth hockey presence," and will be accepting requests for proposals - RFPs - if there are interested markets. Because there are no expansion fees tied to this market evaluation, the RFP process is simply the PWHL investigating a market's viability based on its potential interest in housing a team. In short, nothing is guaranteed.

There will undoubtedly be cities that will want the opportunity to bring a professional women's team to their market, so let's take a look at who may apply and which cities have the best shot. I'll base these quick evaluations strictly on the criteria outlined above, so let's see which markets may be best for expansion from west to east.

Vancouver

1) The market size of Vancouver as one of Canada's largest cities won't be questioned, but it's media reach may be as games would start much later there than on the east coast.
2) There are a number of facilities in and around Vancouver that could house the team comfortably, but the PWHL will want a permanent home for the team. Finding that may be more difficult.
3) There are all sorts of economic and corporate sponsorship opportunities for the PWHL to seek. This one seems the easiest of the criteria to meet.
4) The fanbase is there, and the youth hockey presence in Vancouver is doing well. With UBC and Trinity Western both playing U SPORTS hockey, there are highly-competitive levels of hockey from youth hockey right up to adulthood.

The Vancouver area has given us Micah Zandee-Hart and Kaleigh Fratkin, but the problem is that Vancouver is 2900kms (1800 miles) from the closest PWHL franchise in Minnesota. The costs of flying across the continent and crossing borders will always be prohibitive unless the league pushes westward with a major expansion effort. That's not in the cards right now, so Vancouver's viability, while good, will ultimately lose out to the travel costs requirement.

Calgary

1) The market size is solid in Calgary, and there definitely is a record of fans coming out to support the previous Calgary women's teams. Do they have a media reach there? That might be a question mark.
2) WinSport Arena would work if absolutely necessary, but WinSport hosts hockey leagues already. Would they be prepared to push them out? The new Calgary arena complex will have a community rink with only 1000 seats, so that would even be in the conversation. Father David Bauer Arena is ancient. Finding a suitable arena will be tough if WinSport doesn't want to be part of the process.
3) Economic and corporate sponsorship opportunities will exist in Calgary thanks to a number of head offices being located there.
4) The fanbase has supported a professional hockey team in the past, and there is an excellent youth hockey setup in Calgary. Combined with the two U SPORTS universities in Calgary and Mount Royal, women's hockey is supported well there.

We saw Calgary's distance work in the CWHL, but Calgary also had the benefit of having a vast number of Canadian Olympians playing for the Inferno so fans continued to show up for games. That won't be the case this time as the new team will build from the ground up, but there still are a number of prominent former players who could help market the team effectively. Calgary's facilities aren't the greatest, though, so that might be the biggest strike against them when needing an arena of more than 6000 seats to make the dollars work.

Chicago

1) The market size in Chicago is not in question. There would need to be one of the local media companies who steps up to cover the team and air the games, but Chicago is big enough that it shouldn't be too much of an issue.
2) There aren't many venues in Chicago that seat more than 6000 fans for hockey, but AllState Arena in Rosemont would fit nicely if the AHL's Chicago Wolves were looking for roommates.
3) Chicago is the home to many head offices and major corporate headquarters. This criterion should be hard to reach.
4) I don't think fans in Chicago would have any trouble supporting a women's team. While the distance to Rosemont may discourage some, there should be more than enough fans. There are leagues being run all over Chicago for youth hockey right up to adult leagues.

Chicago checks all the boxes for the PWHL as it's closer to Minnesota than most other cities being considered to create that natural rivalry, it has a long hockey history, and there's a suitable facililty. It certainly doesn't hurt that players like Kendall Coyne-Schofield and Savannah Harmon played hockey there while Annie Camins, PWHL Vice President of Hockey Operations, worked for the Blackhawks. Chicago would definitely be a front-runner in the expansion options.

Detroit

1) Like Chicago, there are media companies in and around Detroit who certainly could broadcast games. In the PWHL's lone appearance in Detroit, 13,736 fans came out to cheer on the women. Even if the league scored half of that per game, they'd still be averaging more than 6000 people. Detroit looks like a solid candidate.
2) We already know that Little Caesars Arena worked, so the PWHL might have an entry point into the Detroit market already. Beyond Little Caesars Arena, there aren't many other arenas with 6000 seats in the Detroit area.
3) While Detroit's economy is still improving, there are quiet concerns that oversaturating the market with another professional team may weigh on the city. There are enough corporate headquarters here, though, that sponsorship shouldn't be too difficult.
4) Detroit's minor hockey scene is fairly strong, and there has been significant investment in the minor hockey programs around the city by the Detroit Red Wings. With the University of Michigan not having a Division-I women's hockey program, though, that sets back the local scene in terms of professional development. Nevertheless, fans did come out to watch Boston and Ottawa battle.

Detroit, like Chicago, checks all the boxes for the PWHL as it's close to a number of current franchises, there's a long hockey history, and it seems like fans are willing to watch the games at Little Caesars Arena. Detroit's minor hockey scene boasts Manon Rheaume as one of the people leading its growth, and both Megan Keller and Shiann Darkangelo grew up in the area. With an experiment already run in Detroit, the PWHL knows what it's getting from that market, and it should be considered as one of the top expansion destinations.

Pittsburgh

1) Pittsburgh has media companies, but it's a question of reach as I'm not aware of many broadcasting on a national stage. The PWHL played in Pittsburgh last season, and 8850 fans came out to cheer on two Canadian teams. The league likely was hoping for more fans, but 8850 was a solid total for not having a US-based team in the game.
2) PPG Paints Arena was the host for the Toronto-Montreal game in Pittsburgh, but there simply aren't enough midsized facilities in the Pittsburgh area if PPG Paints Arena isn't available.
3) Pittsburgh's economy is diversified, so there should be many options for sponsorship. With the large number of universities in and around Pittsburgh, there will be more professionals joining the workforce down the road.
4) Pittsburgh's youth hockey programs have exploded thanks to the efforts of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby, but the city plays host to a number of highly-competitive tournaments each year while developing players at the lower levels. As we have seen, fans in Pittsburgh do love their hockey, but that 8850 number needs to be the average if the PWHL plays in PPG Paints Arena.

It doesn't hurt having Amanda Kessel in the city and working with the Penguins when it comes to marketing women's hockey. Alexa Gruschow is the only current PWHL player from the area, but Brianne McLaughlin helped to ressurect the Robert Morris women's program. Professional players aside, however, one has to wonder if Pittsburgh would average more fans than their lone PWHL game or another city like Chicago. Pittsburgh has shown that it will turn out for women's hockey, but will 8850 come out 15 times per season?

It should be noted that these are the top five cities that have been mentioned in recent years when it comes to expansion, but places like Denver, Philadelphia, Washington, Quebec City, and Winnipeg have all been mentioned as well. There are challenges that come with each location just like we've seen above, but nothing worth having doesn't come without some kind of adversity. Any of the ten cities listed above could house a team with varying levels of success.

If the PWHL is going to find its way into two markets, they should be looking to find local investors who can buy franchises. If the risk to the league is lower by having independent owners, it would make more sense in allowing expansion into markets where investors can risk their own monies. While the RFP process should still be done as a measure of due diligence, the PWHL is going to have to relinquish its hold on all franchises at some point if the league is to grow organically. Otherwise, this is just establishing franchises to sell.

We'll see who comes forward as possible expansion locations by submitting an RFP to the PWHL, but my guess is that Chicago, Detroit, and Pittsburgh will be in the mix as we get closer to an expansion announcement. I'd love to see a fourth Canadian team added - Hamilton? Quebec City? - but I'd expect both teams, assuming they expand to eight teams, to come from south of the border.

Two more teams more two more regrettable team names as well. Who's ready for that unfortunate reality?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!