San Jose could be in line for an expansion franchise in the Professional Women’s Hockey League ahead of next season, according to published reports.
The eight-team PWHL on Wednesday announced plans to expand to Detroit, for the 2026-27 season, and reports emerged Thursday that Hamilton, Ontario, will also be getting a franchise in the now three-year-old league.
The PWHL could also be looking to add as many as two more teams, according to The Athletic, with San Jose emerging as a strong contender.
After the PWHL expanded to the West Coast last year, with Seattle and Vancouver granted franchises, it is believed the league wants to add a California-based team. While Los Angeles was initially thought to be a candidate for an expansion franchise, San Jose’s bid, according to Ice Warriors magazine, has recently “gained significant traction.”
It remains unclear who would own a San Jose-based PHWL franchise and where the team would play.
The expectation is that the team, if it comes to fruition, would play at the 17,435-seat SAP Center, although that is not for certain. If a PWHL franchise does come to San Jose, it would not be owned by Sharks Sports & Entertainment, according to a Bay Area hockey source.
The group owns the two major hockey franchises in the Bay Area, with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks playing at SAP Center and the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda playing at 4,200-seat Tech CU Arena.
The Sharks declined to comment on the reports.
The Bay Area has shown it can support professional women’s sports, gaining two teams in recent years.
The NWSL in April 2023 expanded to include Bay FC, which played its first season in 2024 and is now in its third year at PayPal Park in San Jose, which hosted last season’s league championship game. The WNBA granted a franchise to the Bay Area in October 2023, with the San Francisco-based Golden State Valkyries joining the league in 2025.
The Valkyries set a WNBA record for average attendance (18,064) and total attendance (397,408) during their inaugural season. The team also sold out all 22 regular-season home games at Chase Center in 2025 and, according to CNBC, recently became the WNBA’s first franchise to be valued at $1 billion.
Bay FC was fourth in the NWSL with an average attendance of 14,823 in 13 home matches last season. That included a then-league-record crowd of 40,091 at Oracle Park in San Francisco last August for the team’s game against the Washington Spirit. That record was broken in March when the Denver Summit played the Spirit before 63,004 fans at Empower Field at Mile High.
The Valkyries share an owner group with the Warriors, led by Joe Lacob, while Bay FC’s ownership — fronted by four former soccer stars including San Jose’s Brandi Chastain and backed by investment firm Sixth Street — is distinct from John Fisher and the San Jose Earthquakes.
There has been renewed local interest in professional hockey, as the Sharks and Barracuda saw significant attendance increases this past season. The Sharks’ average attendance went from 14,218 last season to 16,173 in 2025-26, while the Barracuda’s average attendance increased from 2,325 in 2024-25 to 3,056 this past season.
The PWHL began with franchises in Montreal, Boston, Minnesota, Ottawa, Toronto, and New York in 2024. The league’s playoffs began on April 30, with Montreal Victoire, Minnesota Frost, Ottawa Charge, and Boston Fleet all involved.