Professional Women's Hockey League Expands to Seattle
April 30, 2025 - Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) News Release
NEW YORK AND TORONTO - The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) today announced its expansion to Seattle, Washington, with the new team set to begin play in the 2025-26 season. The team will play its home games at Climate Pledge Arena and train at the Kraken Community Iceplex.
As part of today's announcement, the team revealed that its primary color will be Emerald Green and its secondary color will be Cream. The team will operate as PWHL Seattle until the permanent brand identity is announced.
A press conference will be held today at 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET at Climate Pledge Arena, with a livestream available on thepwhl.com and the PWHL's YouTube channel.
Seattle joins Vancouver as the PWHL's first two expansion teams alongside the inaugural six markets (Boston, Minnesota, Montréal, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto), extending the league's footprint to the Pacific Northwest ahead of its third season. The new team will join the league's single-entity ownership structure under The Walter Group.
Details regarding an Expansion Draft, and how Seattle and Vancouver will be integrated into the 2025 PWHL Draft on June 24, will be announced in the coming weeks.
The decision to expand to Seattle follows an extensive Request for Proposal (RFP) process and reflects the initial stages of the league's long-term vision for strategic growth. Seattle's bid was led by Oak View Group, the developers and operators of Climate Pledge Arena, alongside the Seattle Kraken.
Seattle emerged as a natural fit for PWHL expansion for several reasons, including its best-in-class facilities, a growing youth hockey community, and passionate women's sports fanbase. The city delivered an enthusiastic response to the launch of the PWHL Takeover Tour, drawing a crowd of 12,608 at Climate Pledge Arena on January 5. Growing its presence in the Pacific Northwest not only broadens the league's national reach, but also strengthens regional rivalries, with Seattle's proximity to Vancouver creating natural competitive energy. Partnering with the NHL's Seattle Kraken further solidifies a strong foundation for success in this vibrant sports market. The PWHL will build on this momentum by extending grassroots efforts across the Seattle area through camps, clinics, and community events designed to grow the game and foster deep local connections.
The 2025-26 PWHL season, which includes 30 games per team, will begin this fall, with the full schedule set to be released in late summer. Fans can place a time-stamped deposit here beginning at 11 a.m. PT today to secure priority access to season tickets for Seattle's historic inaugural season, once ticket packages are released. For the latest news and updates on PWHL Seattle, fans can subscribe to the newsletter here and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram @pwhl__seattle, X @pwhl__seattle, TikTok @pwhl__seattle, Threads @pwhl__seattle and Bluesky @pwhl--seattle.
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