As PWHL rolls out more expansion, Detroit appears ready for its franchise

The PWHL has hosted four "takeover" games at LCA, all of them well-attended:

• 15,938 fans: March 28, 2026 (Montreal 3, New York 1)
• 14,288: March 16, 2025 (New York 4, Minnesota 1)
• 13,736: March 16, 2024 (Boston 2, Ottawa 1, SO)
• 9,624: Jan. 3, 2026 (Vancouver 4, Boston 3)

A PWHL franchise would give LCA, which opened in 2017, its latest sports tenant. The building already is home to the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings, and it will be home to a new WNBA franchise, starting in 2029. PWHL teams played more than a dozen regular-season home games a season, which stretches from November to April.

"We want to play in the NHL buildings," Scheer told The News in March. "This might be the premier venue in the United States when you look at the clubs, the building."

The PWHL and its eight franchises are owned by the Mark Walter Group, led by the Los Angeles Dodgers owner. The league's advisory board includes tennis legend Billie Jean King. Minnesota has won the league's first two championships, with the 2025-26 playoffs ongoing.

The PHWL currently has four teams in the United States (Minnesota, Boston, New York and Seattle) and four teams in Canada (Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver).

There are more than a dozen PWHL players who call Michigan home, second-most in the league behind Minnesota. Among them is Farmington Hills' Megan Keller, the Olympic gold-medal hero who plays for Boston.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit poised to land PWHL expansion franchise this week