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The Professional Womenâs Hockey League is expanding to Las Vegas for the 2026-27 season, adding its 10th franchise. The announcement is expected to be made by Foley Entertainment Group, owners of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights.
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PWHL expanding to Las Vegas for 2026-27 season, adding 10th franchise
The Professional Womenâs Hockey League is headed for Las Vegas, a source briefed on the situation confirmed to The Athletic on Tuesday.
The league is expected to announce Vegas as the home of the PWHLâs 10th franchise on Wednesday afternoon, according to an invitation sent by Foley Entertainment Group, which owns the NHLâs Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas will be the second of what could be four expansion teams for the 2026-27 season; PWHL Detroit was announced last week.
âYouâre invited to join us for a historic Las Vegas sports announcement,â the invite, which was sent to youth hockey teams in the area and obtained by The Athletic, said. âThis event will bring together our sports and hockey community, recognizing our cityâs passion and spirit, while celebrating the future of the sport in our city with a look ahead at whatâs to come.â
A PWHL team in Vegas would likely play at T-Mobile Arena, home of the Golden Knights, which has a capacity of 17,500 for hockey and one of the best atmospheres in the NHL. Thereâs also Leeâs Family Forum in Henderson, Nev., home to the AHL Henderson Silver Knights. But a 5,567-seat arena is likely too small for the PWHL, which averaged 9,304 fans per game during its record-breaking 2025-26 regular season.
Las Vegas has quickly become a hub for major professional sports. After the NHLâs Golden Knights â led by owner Bill Foley â broke the seal on Las Vegas as a professional sports market in 2017, other leagues quickly followed suit. The WNBAâ Aces relocated from San Antonio in 2018; the NFLâs Raiders moved from Oakland for the 2020 season; MLBâs Athletics, also formerly in Oakland, plan to open a ballpark in 2028; and the NBA in March approved exploration of placing an expansion team in the city for the 2028-29 season.
The PWHL's Las Vegas franchise is set to begin play in the 2026-27 season.
The expansion to Las Vegas marks the addition of the PWHL's 10th franchise and highlights the growing popularity of women's hockey.
The new PWHL franchise in Las Vegas will be owned by Foley Entertainment Group, which also owns the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights.
The PWHL is planning to add up to four expansion teams for the 2026-27 season, with Las Vegas being the second confirmed location.
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The Aces have become a dynasty franchise in Vegas, winning three league titles in four years. In March, the team announced it was the first in WNBA history to sell out season ticket allotments for three consecutive seasons. The Aces play at Michelob ULTRA Arena and have drawn big crowds for select games hosted at T-Mobile. In July 2024, the Aces played against Caitlin Clarkâs Indiana Fever in front of 20,366 fans â the largest regular season crowd at a WNBA game since 1999.
Vegas has also become a premier destination for NHL players, which was on display yet again this summer when the Golden Knights landed Mitch Marner in a sign-and-trade with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.
âPlayers donât want to leave,â Foley said in a July interview with The Athleticâs Jesse Granger. âOnce they get here, and they see our facilities and where we play, and they see the way we take care of our players, scouts and coaches, and how everyone is all in, they donât want to leave.â
PWHL Las Vegas and Detroit will join the original six markets of Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, New York and Minnesota and the leagueâs first expansion teams in Seattle and Vancouver.
San Jose, Calif., and Hamilton, Ont., have also emerged in recent weeks as two of the leagueâs other prime options to reach 12 teams for next season, according to chatter in league circles.
Teams in Las Vegas and another western market, along with another in the east, would make the league more geographically balanced, potentially placing four franchises in the West, two in the Midwest (Detroit and Minnesota) and six in the East. Having that kind of footprint might also allow the PWHL to split into two conferences and potentially four divisions; PWHL executive vice president of business operations Amy Scheer told the Associated Press the league is exploring the idea.
Selecting expansion markets has been a fluid process for league executives, who have spent months working through the available options.
âThere is a line of cities eager to have us there, whether itâs for a couple Takeover Tour games or for a full-time team,â Stan Kasten, the president of the MLBâs Los Angeles Dodgers and a PWHL advisory board member, said last month. âWeâre going to have news about that in the next few weeks.â
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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