The second installment of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s (PWHL) Takeover Tour concluded on March 29th, capping off nine games at neutral sites across the United States and Canada. The Tour offered women’s hockey fans an opportunity to watch their favorite players in action and gave the league an opportunity to test out cities that could potentially serve as future expansion sites. As we reflect on the success of the Takeover Tour, we uncover what it means for the growth of the PWHL and the future of women’s hockey.
What is the Takeover Tour?
The Takeover Tour hosted games for the league’s six teams at various sites across the continent, from Seattle to St. Louis. From January to March, each PWHL team played at least two of its regular season games as part of the tour.
After a strong inaugural season last year, the PWHL is poised to grow, with plans to add two new teams in the 2025-2026 season. These neutral-site games can give the league a better idea of where the demand for women’s hockey lies. The 2024 Takeover Tour included two games in Detroit and Pittsburgh, with the league adding games as far north as Québec City and going down south to Raleigh for this year’s edition.
“Bringing PWHL games to fans across both countries is a natural next step as we continue building our audience,” said Amy Scheer, PWHL Senior Vice President of Business Operations. “The PWHL Takeover Tour lets us showcase our game and exceptional athletes across a wider North American footprint…an important move for our business as we consider expansion.”
Accelerating Attendance
Plenty of cities made their case as women’s hockey-loving sites ready to host a new PWHL team. Across the board, Takeover Tour locations welcomed higher-than-average attendance numbers and multiple sold-out crowds. In Vancouver, the second stop of the tour, a season-high 19,038 fans watched as the Montréal Victoire defeated the Toronto Sceptres.
Fan attendance averaged over 14,000 through the Takeover Tour stops, compared to a league wide average of over 7,000. On March 16th, the crowd in Detroit helped propel the PWHL to reach its one millionth fan in less than two seasons of play.
“The PWHL Takeover Tour lets us showcase our game and exceptional athletes across a wider North American footprint...an important move for our business as we consider expansion.”
“Reaching one million fans is a huge milestone for our league,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations. “To see the league grow so rapidly is a reflection of the dedication of our players, who demonstrate their world-class talent every day, as well as the countless individuals behind the scenes who work relentlessly to ensure the league's success.”
As the league looks to make an expansion announcement in the upcoming weeks, the demand at each Takeover Tour stop is something to consider. Scheer has emphasized that Takeover Tour attendance is just one factor in determining where the league’s next team could be. The PWHL must also evaluate economic opportunity and ensure proper infrastructure is in place in potential host cities, but it’s hard to ignore the Takeover cities where tickets sold out quickly and fan excitement was loudest.
Looking ahead
The demand and excitement for this year’s PWHL’s Takeover Tour shows the tremendous potential of the league’s popularity and presents various avenues to expand.
The tour gave fans who may live hundreds of miles from a PWHL team the chance to watch their favorite players. Many of them turned out, armed with posters and chanting, “we want a team” to promote their home cities as sites for a future expansion team. The games also offered a homecoming to some PWHL players.
“To play here in front of family that hasn’t seen me play live in close to seven years, it was a very special feeling for me,” Alberta native and Ottawa Charge defender Stephanie Markowski said about playing a Tour game in Edmonton. “For the signs and chants, I think it shows that the women’s game is growing.”
The second installment of the PWHL’s Takeover Tour was a huge success for the league and teams, giving thousands of fans across the continent the opportunity to watch women’s hockey live and dream of hosting a team in their own backyard. As the league considers expansion for years to come, the outstanding viewership of the Takeover Tour is an encouraging sign that there’s a lot more room for women’s hockey to grow.
