Icy Hot: PWHL Shows Major Growth In Attendance, Marketing, Merch, Impact

By Barry Janoff

April 29, 2026: Having grown from six to eight teams by adding expansion teams in Vancouver and Seattle this past season, it follows that vital numbers would be up across the board for the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

But the numbers for the 2025-26 season even surpassed PWHL expectations.

On the eve of its playoffs, the PWHL said in its third season it surpassed one million single-season attendees for the first time, the partnership portfolio grew by 35%, online merchandise sales increased by 50%, and social platforms generated more than 682 million impressions.

The PWHL and all eight of its teams are owned by the Mark Walter Group. The Advisory Board of the PWHL is formed by Billie Jean King, Ilana Kloss, Stan Kasten and Royce Cohen.

Average attendance across all primary home venues grew by 35% season-over-season. 

Through 120 regular season games, the PWHL said it totaled 1,116,497 fans sacross all games for an average of 9,304 per game, an increase of 28% over the entire 2024-2025 season, including playoffs, and 71% over the PWHL’s inaugural season. 

The PWHL said it  has increased attendance in each successive season, with 653,415 fans in attendance across 90 regular season games in Season Two (average attendance of 7,260), and a cumulative attendance of 392,259 across 72 regular season games in Season One (average attendance of 5,448).

The leagues set  a new U.S. arena attendance record for a women’s hockey game on April 4 when 18,006 fans sold-out the first PWHL game ever played in New York's Madison Square Garden (pictured), presented by e.l.f. Cosmetics, when the New York Sirens hosted the Seattle Torrent.

The PWHL completed its second Takeover Tour season, featuring 16 games hosted in neutral-site cities. 

The 2025-26 PWHL Takeover Tour visited seven new cities experiencing the PWHL for the first time —  Calgary, Chicago, Dallas, Halifax, Hamilton, Washington D.C., and Winnipeg — with 200,000 attendees across all 16 stops.

The league and team partnership portfolio grew 35% season-over-season to 81 corporate partners.

Photo: Emma JanoffKey additions included league partners AERO (Nestlé), DoorDash, Global Industrial, and Aveeno; as well as team partners Symetra, Alaska Airlines, Snoqualmie Casino and Hotel, Good Protein, LiUNA!, Organika, Mr. Sub, Tommee Tippee, and Sprouts Farmers Market.

More than 20,000 custom signs were created by fans at sign-making stations at PWHL games in partnership with Midea (U.S.) and Canadian Tire (Canada).

In-arena sales of PWHL gear doubled compared to last season, and dnline merchandise sales increased more than 50% season-over-season.

Following the 2026 Olympics — when the PWHL paused to allow players to compete in Milano Cortina — this growth accelerated even farther with an approximately 190% increase in sales versus the same period last year.

“Seattle and Vancouver expansion teams delivered standout performances in their inaugural seasons, generating the highest first-year merchandise sales of any teams in the league to date,” according to the PWHL.

The PWHL saw a 61% increase in new viewership across all league YouTube content compared to Season Two.

Since its inaugural season, the PWHL has streamed all games on YouTube “to maximize accessibility and global reach, particularly across the United States and Europe, while cultivating a new and growing audience for women’s hockey.”

During 2025-26 regular season, live YouTube viewership increased 77% season-over-season, with viewers tuning in to watch PWHL games from 154 countries, up from 106 countries last season.

The PWHL continued to expand its global digital footprint this season by generating 682 million total impressions — an increase of 150% compared to Season Two — across league and team-owned platforms, including X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Bluesky, and YouTube,. 

The league also saw strong growth on its Web site, with traffic increasing 66% season-over-season and 89% of overall traffic coming from new users.

The PWHL said it is “committed to growing the future of women’s hockey through inclusive, community-driven programming that expands access, develops talent, keeps girls in the game, and creates impact beyond the ice.”

This past season saw the launch of the league’s first PWHL Mentorship Program, in partnership with Strong Girls United, “designed to empower and inspire the next generation of girls in hockey and made possible with support from Kyndryl.”

The program connected 21 PWHL players with 120 youth across North America, totaling more than 100 hours of dedicated mentorship.

The league’s Ready, Set, Skate learn-to-play program introduced more than 500 new players to the game this season — up 175% from Season Two — through clinics hosted in almost every PWHL market.

During the 2025–26 season, the PWHL saw a 500% increase in demand for all programming, including youth and adult hockey opportunities, with sold-out skills clinics and adult hockey experiences like Fantasy Camp.

Girls Hockey Grant Programs supported equipment, registration, and camp scholarships for more than 700 girls to access hockey.

This offseason, the PWHL is hosting some 25 summer clinics across every PWHL market, reaching upwards of 1,500 young hockey players at all skill levels. 

Beginning April 30, the PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs, presented by SharkNinja, feature best-of-five semifinals between the Montréal Victoire and the Minnesota Frost, and the Boston Fleet against the Ottawa Charge. 

PWHL Adds Seattle To Roster, But Is Expansion Over?

PWHL Expands To Vancouver With First West Coast Team

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