Toronto exploring bigger venue for playoffs
League looks to capitalize on massive demand
Even before entering Montreal’s Bell Centre and witnessing a record crowd cheering at a women’s hockey game on Saturday, Stacey Allaster could tell something was galvanizing with the PWHL.
It especially hit the U.S. Open tennis tournament director when she saw three young girls outside the arena in hockey jerseys, holding small baskets and raising money for their local team.
“That’s the power of community building,” Allaster said. “This is a growth industry and the PWHL is setting a good model going forward … What a moment it was to be at Bell Centre.”
The game between Toronto and Montreal set a PWHL attendance record of 21,105 — breaking the mark of 19,285 set just two months earlier at Scotiabank Arena when the same two teams met.
Those are impressive numbers for a league that launched less than five months ago, and indicative of a bigger trend: more Canadians are watching women’s sports than ever before.
According to a report released Monday by the non-profit Canadian Women & Sport, about two in three Canadians consider themselves fans of women’s sports — equivalent to more than 17 million people. The majority consider themselves avid fans who watch pro leagues such as the PWHL and WNBA on a regular basis and also tune in for major events such as the Olympics and FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The study was done in October 2023 and more than 2,000 Canadians ages 13 to 65 were surveyed. A sample that size has a margin of error of plus or minus two per cent.
Those findings are particularly significant to Jayna Hefford, PWHL’s senior vice-president of hockey operations, who said one of the young league’s main goals from the get-go was to make games as accessible as possible — through ticket pricing, broadcast partnerships and YouTube streaming.
“We are certainly at this period of time where there’s excitement in women’s sports,” she said.
Hefford said the Toronto fan base has been exceptional with season tickets at the 2,600-seat Mattamy Athletic Centre selling out fast. While the small venue provides an intimate vibe, the league wants to make sure it isn’t “leaving too much demand” on the table. Discussions continue about the possibility of a bigger home for PWHL Toronto in the future.
PWHL Toronto became the first team to secured a post-season berth with Saturday’s win. With three regular-season games remaining, including Sunday at New York, no decision has been made on whether playoff home dates will move to the bigger Coca-Cola Coliseum or even Scotiabank Arena.
“We’re exploring everything. I think we’d love to be able to satisfy this demand if we can, but it’s really a wait-and-see approach at the moment,” said Hefford, adding they won’t know playoff dates until the standings are finalized. “There’s a lot of moving pieces, but everything is on the table right now.”