On Tuesday afternoon, media were invited to the SAP Center in San Jose for what was announced as a “landmark sports announcement.” At that event, it was revealed that the Professional Women’s Hockey League had announced that their 12th franchise had been awarded to San Jose and will begin play this December.
“Now young athletes across Northern California will have something that many of them have never got to experience before,” Brodie Brazil of the San Jose Sharks. “That is a professional women’s hockey team that they can call their own. It’s going to be a team they can watch, it’s going to be a team they can cheer for, and most importantly, a team they can see themselves in.”
After his opening remarks, Brazil invited the guests of honor to the stage which included Olympic gold medalists, and Bay Area natives, Kristi Yamaguchi and Brandi Chastain, PWHL executive Amy Scheer, Jonathan Becher of Sharks Sports and Entertainment, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.
Scheer announced in a media availability after the live-streamed event that the team, which is currently branded as PWHL San Jose, had already received over 1,000 deposits toward season tickets. Becher hinted that the number was above that and had exceeded the PWHL’s expectations.
PWHL San Jose will play their games at the SAP Center, but given the renovations currently being done on the arena during the summer, they will move to TechCU Arena once the Sharks’ season comes to an end and construction begins.
Northern California is quickly becoming a hub for women’s sports, as they’ve added Bay FC to the NWSL and the Golden State Valkyries to the WNBA in recent years. Both teams have ranked near the top of their respective leagues in attendance.
No timeline for a team name or branding has been announced, but the current logo revealed that the primary color will likely be orange with blue and white accents.
The PWHL also added teams to Las Vegas, Nevada, Detroit, Michigan and Hamilton, Ontario this summer. In 2025, they added their first west coast teams, the Vancouver Goldeneyes and the Seattle Torrent.
Unlike many major sports leagues, all teams in the PWHL are centrally owned and operated by the league itself. As a result, all decisions regarding branding and team management will be made by the PWHL. While the Sharks will help the new team as needed, Becher stated that officially, PWHL San Jose will be simply a tenant in their arena.
The 2026-27 PWHL season will begin this December, but in the meantime, the PWHL Entry Draft is scheduled for June 17 and further information regarding the expansion process will be released in coming weeks.