PWHL officially expands to Seattle
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - The worst kept secret of 2025 in Seattle sports has now become reality, as the Professional Women’s Hockey League has announced that the second expansion team in their first ever round of new franchises will play in the Emerald City. It’s thrilling news and one that fans have known for a few weeks now was possible since initial reports (including ours) that the league wanted to come to Seattle. It’s another professional team in this great sports city, and a fifth women’s pro sports team joining the Storm, Reign, Tempest, and Majestics who call the area home already in some capacity. Here’s the information that’s been made known currently, ahead of the leagues official announcement press conference at Climate Pledge Arena.
“I have yet to experience another crowd like that. Seattle holds a special place in my mind, and that’s why I’m super excited to be able to share that experience with other teammates, whether it’s on the Fleet or on the Montreal team.”
“There is so much passion from women’s and girls’ hockey organizations in Seattle, and our players thrived on that energy during their Takeover Tour visit. Women’s teams from Seattle and Vancouver played against each other as early as 1921 and, given the proximity of our two newest cities – Vancouver is barely 140 miles away – I cannot wait for the first game in what I’m sure will be one of our fiercest rivalries. 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.”
Sights from the PWHL Takeover Tour Seattle stop at Climate Pledge Arena on January 5th, 2025. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo for Circling Seattle Sports)
Key information to note
Some important information regarding the team has been confirmed right away, which also confirms our initial reporting from our “what to know” article ahead of the official announcement that the team is coming to Seattle. We’ll work to confirm how many of the teams games we’ll be played there, but Climate Pledge Arena is the teams official home venue. The link to season ticket membership deposits has a section for frequently asked questions that reveals “each team featured 13 to 15 regular season home games are part of their full season ticket packages” and in a clip from the “Jocks in Jills” podcast, the leagues official podcast partner, PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer said that the Seattle team will play the “majority” of their games at CPA. The Kraken Community Iceplex is the teams practice facility, just as it is for the Seattle Kraken. It will be interesting to find out information such as where the home games that the team is playing are at when they can’t play at CPA, which rink at KCI will be used the most often for their practices, and if the practices will be open to the public such as some Kraken sessions are.
“We are looking forward to returning the love, energy and excitement the Seattle sports community shared with us during the PWHL Takeover Tour. The opportunity to start a new chapter of women’s hockey in the Pacific Northwest, combined with calling the world-class Climate Pledge Arena home has so much meaning for our league. The Kraken already have been unbelievably supportive, and it’s a joy to have PWHL Seattle join the WNBA’s Storm and the NWSL’s Reign, who are skyscrapers in the city’s towering sports landscape.”
It’s been confirmed that the Seattle team will begin play during the 2025-26 season, which is the upcoming campaign after this current season wraps up as the original six are finalizing playoff seeding ahead of the second ever PWHL Playoffs. It’s confirmed that the team will join the league’s single-entity ownership structure under The Walter Group, just as the original six teams did and Vancouver has as well. While the Seattle team will be joining the league’s single-entity ownership group, it was revealed that Seattle’s bid was led by Oak View Group, the developers and operators of Climate Pledge Arena and the group in charge of the renovation of Memorial Stadium, alongside the Seattle Kraken.
“On behalf of the Seattle Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena, I am proud to welcome the Professional Women’s Hockey League to Seattle. Seattle is an incredible sports city and we’ve seen firsthand the passion for the women’s game – at both the US v Canada Rivalry game and the PWHL Takeover Tour. We’re also proud to grow the game of hockey at Kraken Community Iceplex and together we’ll continue to inspire the next generation of hockey players and fans alike.”
The official team colors, proving that the leaks on the league website were true, will be emerald green as the primary and cream as the secondary. The franchise will be known as PWHL Seattle until a permanent team name is announced, similar to how Vancouver will be PWHL Seattle. Scheer mentioned during the press conference for the Vancouver team that the league is open to the team having a name before their inaugural season, but we have to imagine that both Seattle and Vancouver will go through their first year without a name or branding just as the original six did in the PWHL’s inaugural season.
Some fans, maybe those who wanted their respective city to get an expansion team for, could be asking how Seattle was picked. Per the league, Seattle emerged as a natural fit for PWHL expansion for several reasons, including its best-in-class facilities, a growing youth hockey community, and passionate women’s sports fanbase. Seattle is credited with delivering an enthusiastic response to the launch of the PWHL Takeover Tour, drawing a crowd of 12,608 at Climate Pledge Arena on January 5th in the very first start of the tour.
Growing its presence in the Pacific Northwest not only broadens the league’s national reach, but also strengthens regional rivalries, with Seattle’s proximity to Vancouver creating natural competitive energy. Partnering with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken further solidifies a strong foundation for success in this vibrant sports market. The PWHL will build on this momentum by extending grassroots efforts across the Seattle area through camps, clinics, and community events designed to grow the game and foster deep local connections.
Questions could be asked about if the team will be a reason that the league schedule could expand beyond 30 games a season, but it’s been confirmed that’s not happening. The 2025–26 PWHL season, which includes 30 games per team, will begin this fall, with the full schedule set to be released in late summer.
“Seattle is thrilled to be the home of the newest Professional Women’s Hockey League team! This new team will build on Seattle’s legacy of excellence in women’s professional sports, uniting our communities and inspiring big dreams and civic pride. I’m confident our city will embrace the team, the PWHL, and the opportunity to enjoy even more world-class sporting events at Climate Pledge Arena.”
Sights from the PWHL Takeover Tour practice day at the Kraken Community Iceplex, the day before the game itself took place at Climate Pledge Arena between the Montreal Victoire and Boston Fleet, on January 4th, 2025. (Photos by Nate Koppelman for Circling Seattle Sports)
Official press conference later today
As there was with the PWHL Vancouver team, there will be an official press conference that will be live streamed online at thepwhl.com and on the PWHL YouTube account here. Fans have wanted to know if the event will be public so that they can attend, and unless there’s some announcement that we missed, this will be an invite only/strictly media event. It’s unclear where they press conference will be staged at within Climate Pledge Arena, but if it’s anywhere on level one (Visible from street level) then fans could hypothetically see parts of it through the giant glass panes that face the outdoor area surrounding the venue. With that being said, there is no confirmation yet regarding where the press conference will be held and we do know it’s invite only, so plan around watching the announcement via the livestream unless you’ve been invited or are part of the local media that has RSVP’d for the event. In a new email from the arena, we have our list of confirmed figures that will be present which includes: Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, King County Executive Shannon Braddock, Seattle Kraken Owner Samantha Holloway, Seattle Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke, PWHL EVP of Hockey Operations Jayna Hefford, PWHL EVP of Business Operations Amy Scheer. President and CEO of the Seattle Sports Commission Beth Knox. We’ll have two writers and two photographers present for this event, so be on the lookout for our coverage from this event and more regarding the team in the coming days.
How to support this team starting now
For the time being, and until we have an actual roster to attend practices for and show love to on their respective social medias and in the form of player merchandise, there are three key ways we can think of to support this brand new team. The first and perhaps most effective to directly show the team and league that the franchise is valued is season tickets. Deposits, while listed as opening at 11AM PDT, already appear to be open as several fans have already sent their deposits in and gotten confirmation emails. Season tickets, purchasing merchandise for the team even if the official branding isn’t out quite yet, and showing love to the teams official accounts across social media. Those three main areas of support are what leagues in the past have used to measure the success of teams and if specific markets are good enough to host a franchise.
Key things to look forward to
Expansion draft: With a brand new team in the league, the PWHL will need to hold it’s first ever expansion draft so that Seattle and Vancouver can get the majority of their inaugural rosters in place for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
While Amy Scheer and Jayna Hefford, high ranking officials for the PWHL, have both mentioned that plans are in development to get the details of that expansion draft ironed out, they have also said that there are still things that they need to figure out. More details regarding the expansion draft and entry draft coming up.
Entry draft: The collegiate entry draft is on June 24th, taking place in Ottawa, being held at 4 PM PDT at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. With how expansion teams typically work, expect to see Seattle and Vancouver get high draft picks in this collegiate draft.
This entry draft will be the first-ever event held at the brand new Hard Rock Live theatre venue, which is currently part of the $350 million construction and expansion project–– the new amenities are expected to open to the public very soon. The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is the exclusive brick-and-mortar casino partner of the Ottawa Charge. Prospective players have until Thursday, May 8 to declare their eligibility for selection in the 2025 Draft. Additional details regarding the Draft, including format and ticketing information, will be shared in the coming weeks.
Sources have told Circling Seattle Sports that the league is already planning for a second round of expansion to come at this time next year.
Given the success that the league has already had with their original six and how much buzz has been generated for the two expansion teams in Vancouver and Seattle, it makes sense that the PWHL wants to keep their positive momentum rolling forward. Given the success that Detroit and Colorado have had previously and on this past Takeover Tour, those two cities are our early favorites to get those two expansion teams next year. It will also be noteworthy to see if the league will be doing another Takeover Tour next season to scout more cities, potentially in places like California and Philadelphia. Throw in Quebec City and Edmonton as other cities like Detroit and Colorado that showed out well during this seasons Takeover Tour. It’s been made known to CSS that the league plans to grow it’s number of teams to ten by the 2026-27 season. That same source mentioned that the PWHL wants to accelerate it’s plans to add more teams to their league based on the strength of responses and feedback received during its eight-month expansion search in which the PWHL considered more than 20 markets.
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Check out our previous PWHL Seattle articles here.
Check out our previous articles with writing by Charles Hamaker here.
Check out our previous articles with photos by Rio Giancarlo here, and his portfolio here.
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