May 23, 2025, 08:11 am at
The growth of the professional women’s hockey league is less than two years since launch, and the league has already fallen into the first phase of expansion, blowing past first attendance and revenue forecasts.
Members of the league’s advisory committee set an ambitious vision for the future of the PWHL in a telephone interview with the Associated Press on Thursday.
Kasten foresees further expansion beyond the recent additions in Vancouver and Seattle to grow the PWHL to eight teams in the coming years. The league has taken advantage of the 2026 Milan Winter Games to broaden its reach internationally. And it is expected to make profits by 2031, when the league’s current CBA with players expires.
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“In every way, we’re ahead of where we thought we were and we didn’t expect to be in this niche six-team league in Northeast North America,” Kasten said.
“The fate of our manifesto is more than six. It’s eight. I don’t know how many,” he added. “My point is that we are going to be leagues like all other real major leagues, and that’s our goal. …We’re expanding – our footprint is across this continent and hopefully others.”
Kasten said there is ample interest from key markets that missed out on expanding this year to add more teams between 2026 and 27 without solid commitment and planning for expansion. He said the league will have a better timeline for the next expansion phase, based on how smoothly Vancouver and Seattle are built in.
“I know what I think we should do by midseason, and we’ll go from there,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s the next year or the next year, but I think it’s going to be faster than most people imagined.”
What’s clear is that the league will focus on Europe to match the Olympics, and the women’s hockey tournaments will primarily feature PWHL talent.
Kasten said there was discussion about playing exhibit games in Europe within the next two years, as well as building relationships with European leagues for developmental purposes and establishing teams in one day.
“Europe is a big part of our future,” Kasten said.
“I think our presence on the international stage next year is very timed for us,” he added. “We believe that the period before, during, and after the Olympics is extremely important for the next phase of development.”
Kasten spoke from Ottawa, where he defended Minnesota’s 2-1 overtime victory, and was tied to one in Game 2 of the Top 5 Walter Cup Final Series.
Attendance rate Jump PWHL is closing its second season. This featured attendance, revenue, sponsorship and goalscoring (4.8-5.02 per outing) over the first season.
The average attendance rose from 5,448 per contest last year to 7,260, due to some of the nine neutral site games.
Attendance in Toronto and Montreal jumped as both teams played at larger venues, but Minnesota and Ottawa had a slight decline in average turnout when not including designated “home” neutral site games.
New York has continued to turnout, with the Sirens finishing for the second year in a row, with GL Law averaging 2,764 fans at the NHL Devils Home at Prudential Center, averaging 2,764 fans last year.
Without providing accurate numbers, Business Operations Vice President Amy Sher, said the league’s sponsorship has increased by 50% and product sales have doubled.
Kasten has no discount needs that PWHL has to deal with. The league has pointed out that it intends to increase promotions in various markets and improve venues. Another concern is how the fanbase will respond to each of the six existing teams, as they lose four players each as part of the expansion process next month.
For Kasten, it doesn’t take away what the league has accomplished in 23 months since it was launched by his boss, Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter and his wife Kimbra and tennis icon Billy Jean King. As a financial backer for the PWHL, Walter has committed hundreds of millions of dollars as part of her long-term vision to bring together the world’s top female players in one league.
Kasten said the initial forecast for the league’s attendance rate, which surpassed the 1 million mark in March, including the playoffs, is 1,000 per game.
“We’re looking at us with a very clear upward track that allows us to look at the seasons where we can turn the corner and be in black,” Kasten said looking forward to 2031.
“We’re far from now. It’s fine. We predicted that,” he added. “But when that happens, we can also think about expanding our schedules. And now we have more money for more people by expanding our schedules in an environment where you ultimately make money.
“And I hope we’re at that point by that point. It’s going to thrill me.”
