{"id":717,"date":"2026-05-19T15:36:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=717"},"modified":"2026-05-19T15:36:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:36:54","slug":"pwhl-chooses-san-jose-adding-a-fourth-expansion-team-and-growing-to-12-overall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=717","title":{"rendered":"PWHL chooses San Jose, adding a fourth expansion team and growing to 12 overall"},"content":{"rendered":"
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San Jose landed a pro women\u2019s hockey franchise on Tuesday with the PWHL completing its ambitious four-team expansion process with a first entry into California.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Justices hint at strains as Supreme Court comes under scrutiny<\/a><\/p>\n

The league now has 12 teams entering its fourth season, and has doubled in size since the PWHL was established in June 2023. In selecting San Jose, the PWHL adds a region with a population of about 7.6 million, strengthens its geographic footprint with a third Pacific Coast-based franchise, and enters a market with a strong history of supporting women\u2019s sports and girls hockey development.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team will play out of the NHL home of the San Jose Sharks, the SAP Center, with the bid to land the franchise led by the city and Sharks Sports & Entertainment.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cBetween a deeply rooted hockey culture, rapidly booming women\u2019s sports scene, and a community known for growth and innovation, San Jose offers a dynamic stage for the PWHL to expand its reach and build lasting momentum,\u201d said Amy Scheer, PWHL executive vice president of business operations.<\/span><\/p>\n

San Jose\u2019s selection closes the league\u2019s second expansion process, which began with the addition of Detroit two weeks ago followed by Las Vegas and Hamilton, Ontario, a week later They join Seattle and Vancouver, who were added last year, and the PWHL\u2019s original six markets of Boston, New York, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Minnesota.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>Manon Rheaume named general manager of PWHL expansion team in Detroit<\/div>\n

Scheer has previously said league officials are exploring splitting in either two conferences or multiple divisions. All four newcomers help fill geographical voids in reducing travel time between markets.<\/span><\/p>\n

San Jose has also become a hockey hotbed in ranking sixth in the nation in girls hockey participation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Pennsylvania Democrats hope to flip Republican-held seats once they settle toss-up primaries<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom its humble beginnings with an NHL expansion team in 1991, San Jose is now truly a \u2018hockey city,\u2019\u201d Sharks Sports & Entertainment president Jonathan Becher said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The yet-to-be-named team\u2019s colors will be orange \u2014 in a nod to the Sharks \u2014 blue and white, representing the coastline and sky.<\/span><\/p>\n

The PWHL team will be the third major women\u2019s professional franchise to come to the Bay Area in recent years, following Bay FC of the National Women\u2019s Soccer League in 2024 and the Golden State Valkyries of the WNBA in 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>Grading Kris Sparre\u2019s first season as coach of the Boston Fleet<\/div>\n

The PWHL controls all of its franchises, and is privately financed by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter and his wife Kimbra.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fast-paced growth represents the surge in attention the league anticipated women\u2019s hockey would enjoy following the Milan Cortina Olympics in February. Another factor is the league preparing for a bumper-crop of high-level talent declaring for this year\u2019s draft.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

By growing to 12 teams, including seven in the US, the PWHL is also in better position to secure a national broadcast partner. Scripps Sports is the likely candidate with the broadcaster taking the first step this season by airing PWHL playoff games on ION, which reaches 126 million American households.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Yankees\u2019 Gerrit Cole could make his return this homestand<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Jose will be the league’s first foray into California.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nPWHL chooses San Jose, adding a fourth expansion team and growing to 12 overall - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=717\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PWHL chooses San Jose, adding a fourth expansion team and growing to 12 overall - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"San Jose will be the league's first foray into California.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=717\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-19T15:36:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=717#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=717\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"PWHL chooses San Jose, adding a fourth expansion team and growing to 12 overall\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-19T15:36:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=717\"},\"wordCount\":549,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=717#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/348384efc5a237f80d6a700a11857311.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=717#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=717\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=717\",\"name\":\"PWHL chooses San Jose, adding a fourth expansion team and growing to 12 overall - 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