Ice hockey-PWHL announces Seattle expansion franchise for 2025-26 season

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(Reuters) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League on Wednesday announced Seattle as its second expansion franchise, with the club set to launch with Vancouver in time for the 2025-26 season.

The addition of Seattle and Vancouver, the latter having been announced last week, brings the PWHL to eight teams as they will both join the inaugural six markets of Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto.

Given Seattle’s proximity to Vancouver, the two newest PWHL teams give the growing league a regional rivalry.

“I cannot wait for the first game in what I’m sure will be one of our fiercest rivalries,” PWHL Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jayna Hefford said in a press release.

“We also look forward to making an impact in Seattle off the ice –– from grassroots hockey to community initiatives, we’re committed to building meaningful connections throughout our newest home city.”

The league said its newest team will be known as PWHL Seattle until a permanent name is announced, will feature Emerald Green as its primary colour and play out of Climate Pledge Arena, which is home to the city’s NHL and WNBA teams.

Seattle’s bid was led by Oak View Group, the developers and operators of Climate Pledge Arena, alongside the NHL’s Seattle Kraken.

In January, Seattle hosted the first game of the PWHL Takeover Tour, a series of nine neutral-site regular-season games, and drew a crowd of 12,608.

In its inaugural season, the PWHL set the highest attendance record globally for women’s hockey when 21,105 people filled a sold-out Montreal arena in April 2024.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Christian Radnedge)