The day has finally come. The PWHL is officially adding a team to Detroit for the 2026-27 season. The league announced Wednesday morning that Detroit will be the next expansion franchise.
“The Detroit area and the state of Michigan have one of the strongest youth hockey development systems in the world, especially for girls, which is further exemplified by world-class facilities at Little Caesars Arena and a deep commitment from Ilitch Sports + Entertainment to advancing our sport,” Jayna Hefford, PWHL Executive Vice President, Hockey Operations said in the league’s press release.
Detroit is the league’s ninth franchise and its fifth U.S.-based team, joining the original six along with Vancouver and Seattle. PWHL Detroit will call Little Caesars Arena home for their games, joining the Detroit Red Wings (NHL) and Detroit Pistons (NBA) as the building’s tenants. The arena seats 19,515 fans at max capacity. The city was also recently announced as a new market in the WNBA, which will begin play at Little Caesars Arena in 2029.
Detroit’s case for a franchise has been building for three seasons, with more than 53,500 fans turning out across four PWHL Takeover Tour games at Little Caesars Arena.
During the league’s inaugural season, Hockeytown set a new American professional women’s hockey attendance record with a crowd of 13,786. A year later to the day, the city broke its own mark, drawing 14,288.
This season’s two stops produced both the high and low marks of Detroit’s PWHL run. A crowd of 9,624 came out in January, the smallest yet, before a market-record 15,938 on March 28.
It’s one of the stranger gaps in college hockey: not a single major Michigan university ices a D1 women’s team. The talent has come anyway. Megan Keller, Abby Roque, Kristen Simms and Shiann Darkangelo are all Michigan-raised and all currently in the PWHL.
“Detroit is one of the great hockey cities, shaped by generations of players, teams, and fans who have helped grow the game at every level. Bringing a PWHL team to Little Caesars Arena is an exciting next step for our city and for the continued momentum of women’s hockey,” said Chris Ilitch, President and CEO, Ilitch Companies in the press release.
The team is expected to begin play in 2026-27. Roster construction will run through the league’s expansion process, free agency, and the entry draft. A team name, brand identity and full front-office staff are expected to follow at a later date. The primary colors will be black and silver with white as the secondary color, and red as an accent.
With the Detroit franchise official, it likely isn’t the last expansion announcement coming in the next few weeks. Reports for months have indicated the league is targeting a 12-team footprint by the start of the 2026-27 season.