Women’s Hockey Has Stopped Waiting for Permission

Eight weeks out from the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and six months from North America hosting the FIFA World Cup, we’ll be discussing sports governance issues at the highest levels of sport—from diversity and inclusion to match-fixing, doping and corruption. For today’s post, I’m indulging in a little hometown pride in the city's embrace of the newest franchise in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, the Vancouver Goldeneyes.

Women’s Hockey Has Stopped Waiting for Permission

Try explaining to the 14,958 people at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum on November 21st that women’s sports “don’t draw crowds.” Skeptics insist women’s leagues cannot sustain interest, but Vancouver’s sold-out, victorious debut for the Goldeneyes marked the largest crowd ever for a PWHL game at a team’s primary home venue. More than a milestone, this was the death knell for the durable myth that women’s sports lack commercial value.

In the league’s first arena where a PWHL team is the primary tenant, everything signaled that the women’s team was no longer an afterthought—from the logo at center ice to the upgraded video board to rally towels on every seat. For too long, women athletes have operated with shared locker rooms, limited access, or facilities purpose-built for their male counterparts. As longtime women’s hockey standout Sarah Nurse stated, “We’ve never, ever been a priority before.” 

Vancouver’s sellout game wasn’t a one-off—it was a reflection of sustained growth. Across the league, total attendance jumped 53% from 483,530 fans in Season One to 737,455 last season. Merchandise sales doubled, social engagement surged by 68%, and fans now tune in from over 100 countries. More than half of women’s sports fans claim to have only begun watching in the past three years, demonstrating that the audience for women’s sports is accelerating rather than static.

Enthusiastic fans packed the rink kitted out in Goldeneyes gear and touting homemade signs. Women’s hockey of this caliber has been sought for decades and Vancouver has begged for a team of its own since the launch of the PWHL two seasons ago. The game itself more than justified the enthusiasm: clean puck movement, stand-up goaltending and, to the surprise only of the uninitiated, a great deal of physicality. (Of course, the Goldeneyes have fared less well since this inaugural game, but this is the home of the Canucks where faithful fans are undeterred by defeat!)

And where fans go, brands usually follow, ending the traditional narrative that women’s sports have a “marketability” problem. Research by Parity—an organization advancing women athletes through sponsorship equity—finds 32% of fans are more likely to buy from brands supporting women’s teams and 2.8 times more likely to purchase products recommended by women athletes. This consumer behavior isn’t charity, and brands are noticing: the PWHL’s sponsorship portfolio grew roughly 50% last season, attracting names from Barbie to Scotiabank to EA Sports. These partnerships are investing in a new sports culture curated with visibility, representation, and opportunity as marketing pillars.

The Goldeneyes’ first win won’t resolve every outdated trope overnight, but their debut was a reminder that fans respond to quality, regardless of gender.

Alexandra Addison-Wrage

President and Founder, TRACE