They don’t have a name yet, but when they hit the ice at the Pacific Coliseum next season, Vancouver’s new professional women’s hockey team will be clad in uniforms of Pacific blue and cream.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) made it official on Wednesday, announcing Canada’s third-largest city would be the home of its first expansion team.
“Why Vancouver? Obviously, coming here to the third-largest market in Canada (is) really important. You’ve shown a remarkable commitment to growing the game of hockey,” said Amy Scheer, PWHL executive vice-president of business operations.
Vancouver set records when the PWHL came to down in January for one of its out-of-market Takeover Tour games between the Montreal Victoire and Toronto Sceptres.
More than 19,000 fans attended the game, more than in any other city.
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Scheer also pointed to a nearly 50-50 split between male and female youth registered through B.C. Hockey as a selling point for the expansion to the coast.
“The timing couldn’t be better to be in Vancouver. The momentum behind the PWHL continues to grow, and the fans have made it clear they are ready for a team here and now,” PWHL executive vice-president of hockey operations Jeyna Hefford said.
The new club, dubbed simply PWHL Vancouver for now, will serve as the primary tenant at the PNE’s Pacific Coliseum and use the adjacent Agrodome as a practice facility.
Both buildings will get major upgrades to locker rooms and training facilities.
“The PNE can’t wait to welcome the league and its players and a new generation of hockey fans into the rink on Renfrew,” PNE president and CEO Shelly Frost said.
The club will be the league’s first on the West Coast.
While there has been speculation Seattle could be announced as the league’s eighth team, Hefford would not confirm that possibility on Wednesday.
“Yet to be determined if and when we have another expansion team,” she said.
Hefford did not speak to how the new club’s roster would be constructed, save to say that parity and competitiveness are a core goal for the league, and that the PWHL would ensure Vancouver could compete from day one.
She added the league was looking at a variety of options to reduce the travel burden for the Vancouver club, and didn’t rule out the possibility of double-headers against visiting teams.
The PWHL’s third season will kick off next fall, with a schedule to be announced in late summer.
The league hasn’t released the timing of ticket prices or availability, but fans can put down a deposit for future season ticket membership.
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