Why Professional Women's Hockey League picked Detroit for expansion

"This is more than a business announcement," Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Companies, and owner of the Tigers and Red Wings, said. "This is something Detroit is achieving that's been building for a very, very long time. Detroit has been a part of the PWHL story since day one. When the league played its first-ever neutral site game right here at Little Caesars Arena in 2024, 13,700 fans showed up for a brand new league in its inaugural season. That says everything right there.

"And it only grew from there. Detroit hosted more PWHL games than any other neutral site city. Four games across three seasons. We set a U.S. arena attendance record for women's hockey back in March of 2025. And just a month ago, nearly 16,000 fans packed this building for the takeover tour. The PWHL didn't have to guess whether Detroit was ready."

Ilitch gave a shoutout to Marian for her grassroots support of youth hockey over the decades (along with late husband Mike Ilitch), saying, "I want to thank you, mom."

Mary Sheffield on PWHL team in Detroit

Sheffield, the first woman mayor of Detroit in its 324-year history, brought up the impact having a local women's professional team can have on area youth.

"We have a fanbase that's going to support and uplift this league and so we're very honored to bring it here," Sheffield said. "We know the economic activity also that it's going to bring to the city but also just a sense of community and pride and the opportunity to cultivate the next generation of young girls is also exciting. There were so many young girls out today there cheering along and finding out this announcement.

"They oftentimes say you can't be what you can't see. To have a league here in Detroit, it's about opportunity, access, visibility and young girls being able to see themselves in the league. I'm just proud of the forward movement that women's sports is making in general and Detroit is not celebrating it., we're actually leading. We're investing in it and so I'm just very honored again as the woman mayor of the city to bring this league here to Detroit."

Building women's hockey

The success of the PWHL's Takeover Tour stops in Detroit made placing a franchise here natural. As if that wasn't enough to build excitement, the announcement comes about two months after PWHL players at the Olympics showcased the incredible skill level: Megan Keller (Farmington Hills) scored the overtime goal that won the U.S. the gold medal, and Alina Muller scored the overtime goal that won Switzerland the bronze medal. They both play for the Boston Fleet.

"We currently have 13 PWHL players from Michigan, the second most represented U.S. state in our league," Jayna Hefford, executive vice president of hockey operations, said. "We're proud to see local programs like Little Caesars represented here today, a program that has helped develop PWHL players like Shiann Darkangelo, Mellissa Channell-Watkins, and Elle Hartje."

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: PWHL picking Detroit for expansion team was a no-brainer