PWHL Reports Record Growth in Third Regular Season as Playoffs Begin April 30

The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) concluded its third regular season on Saturday, reporting growth across attendance, viewership, digital engagement, partnerships, and merchandise. The 2025-26 season included two expansion teams - Seattle and Vancouver - and the second season of the PWHL Takeover Tour.

Attendance

The PWHL totaled 1,116,497 fans across 120 regular season games, an average of 9,304 per game - up 28% over the full 2024-25 season including playoffs, and up 71% over the inaugural season. Average attendance across primary home venues grew 35% season over season. On March 25, the league surpassed two million all-time attendees in its 275th game. On April 17, the PWHL surpassed one million fans in a single season for the first time, reaching that milestone in 109 games.

Partnerships

The league and team partnership portfolio grew 35% to 81 corporate partners. New league partners include AERO (Nestl ), DoorDash, Global Industrial, and Aveeno.

Merchandise

In-arena merchandise sales doubled compared to last season. Online merchandise sales increased more than 50% season over season, with an approximately 190% increase following the 2026 Olympics compared to the same period last year. Seattle and Vancouver generated the highest first-year merchandise sales of any teams in league history.

YouTube Viewership

Live YouTube viewership increased 77% season over season, with viewers from 154 countries, up from 106 countries last season. New viewership across all league YouTube content increased 61% compared to Season Two.

Social Media

The PWHL generated 682 million total impressions across league and team-owned platforms, an increase of 150% compared to Season Two. Website traffic increased 66% season over season, with 89% of traffic coming from new users.

Takeover Tour

The PWHL's second Takeover Tour featured 16 games in neutral-site cities, including seven new markets: Calgary, Chicago, Dallas, Halifax, Hamilton, Washington D.C., and Winnipeg, with 200,000 total attendees. The Washington D.C. stop at Capital One Arena on January 18 drew 17,228 fans, a U.S. arena record for women's hockey, later broken by sold-out games at Climate Pledge Arena and Madison Square Garden. The Detroit Takeover Tour stop on March 28 was the first PWHL game broadcast on U.S. national linear television, airing on ION through Scripps Sports.

Community Programs

The Ready, Set, Skate learn-to-play program introduced more than 500 new players this season, up 175% from Season Two. The PWHL saw a 500% increase in demand for all programming. Girls Hockey Grant Programs supported more than 700 girls with equipment, registration, and camp scholarships. The league's first PWHL Mentorship Program, in partnership with Strong Girls United and Kyndryl, connected 21 PWHL players with 120 youth across North America for more than 100 hours of mentorship.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/04/30/pwhl-reports-record-growth-in-t...
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