Local News
New hockey team coming to Vancouver
It’s one of the worst-kept sports secrets in the city, but yes, a new hockey team will soon be calling Vancouver home.
1130 NewsRadio can confirm the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is expanding to the West Coast.
A news conference is slated for 11 a.m. with representatives from the B.C. government, the City of Vancouver, and various other stakeholders.
The Associated Press reports Seattle may also be getting a team, which would ignite a rivalry down the I-5. The AP also says it’s believed the Vancouver squad will be based out of the Pacific Coliseum, the former home of the Vancouver Canucks.
The current six-team league is in the midst of its second season and has spent several months evaluating different markets for expansion purposes.
It may be obvious to some people to give Vancouver a team. It’s a large market that has a growing girls’ hockey foundation, which was underscored in January when a PWHL game between Toronto and Montreal was played in Vancouver. The game at Rogers Arena sold out almost immediately, with more than 19,000 fans in attendance.
There is also a desire to spread the game across North America. Currently, the league has five teams based in the east — Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, and New York — and one in the U.S. northeast in St. Paul, Minn.
The PWHL playoffs are set to get underway in May.
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