The Professional Women’s Hockey League officially announced Tuesday that it will expand to San José and begin play during the 2026-27 season at SAP Center.
The announcement came during a press conference at the SAP Center and featured speeches by San José Mayor Matt Mahan, Sharks Sports & Entertainment President Jonathan Becher and several Bay Area sports figures.
Although the team name has not been revealed, the franchise colors will be orange, blue and white.
Becher said the color scheme gives the team its own identity while still honoring hockey in San José.
“I think they initially wanted to give the team a little bit of its own identity,” Becher said. “Orange was a color for the Sharks for many years, so it gives homage to what we’ve done as well. The blue is very San José.”
Brodie Brazil, a San José State University alumnus and current San José Sharks host, hosted the event and highlighted the Bay Area’s hockey culture while introducing speakers.
“The Bay Area has produced generations of hockey fans, players and families who helped grow this game from the ground up,” Brazil said. “From early morning practices and local rinks to packed arenas like this one for the biggest games, hockey has officially become part of the fabric of this community.”
The addition of the San José franchise increased the PWHL to 12 teams, marking the league’s first team in California.
San José joins Las Vegas, Detroit and Hamilton, Ontario, as expansion franchises entering the league for the 2026-27 season. The PWHL is preparing for its fourth season overall.
San José is now the only city with teams in all three major levels of professional hockey: the NHL’s Sharks, the AHL’s San José Barracuda and the new PWHL franchise.
Mahan said the city continues to establish itself as a hub for women’s sports on the West Coast.
“As a father of an eight-year-old girl who loves to play soccer, maybe we can talk her into hockey,” Mahan said. “I couldn’t be more excited about what this means for young girls and women across San José and far beyond.”
The new PWHL franchise also is the third women’s professional sports team in the Bay Area, joining Bay Football Club of the National Women’s Soccer League and the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries.
The franchise received roughly 2,000 season-ticket requests following Tuesday’s announcement, according to a May 19 Associated Press article.
The Valkyries have sold out every home game since their inaugural season in 2025, according to a Sept. 6, 2025, Valkyries webpage.
Several prominent figures in Bay Area women’s sports teams attended the announcement, including Bay Football Club co-founder and two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Brandi Chastain and Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi.
Chastain said the growth of women’s sports in the Bay Area reflects decades of advocacy and support from the local community.
“We believe that women’s sports is not a hiccup. It’s not a charity,” Chastain said. “We have believed in women’s sports for a long time, and now we have such a strong group of women’s athletics in our community.”
With the increase in revenue in women’s sports, the Bay Area has capitalized by adding three professional teams since 2023 that have had rising attendance numbers over the past year.
Bay Football Club set a National Women’s Soccer League attendance record with a crowd of 40,091 at Oracle Park on Aug. 23, 2025, according to a Bay Football Club press release published that same day.
Women’s sports continue to expand throughout California, and the state ranks sixth in the nation in women’s hockey participation, according to a May 19 PWHL press release.
Yamaguchi said the arrival of the PWHL franchise in San José creates new opportunities for young athletes.
“Growing up, there wasn’t even the Sharks yet, so this is incredible and exciting,” Yamaguchi said. “Not just for hockey fans, but especially for young girls who can now see a new pathway for what’s possible in sports.”
The franchise will now begin building its roster ahead of the 2026 PWHL Draft on June 17 in Detroit, according to a May 12 PWHL article.
The draft pool includes 236 players, including 23 who participated in the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, the same source reads.
Amy Scheer, the PWHL’s senior vice president of business operations, said league officials are confident San José will support the new franchise.
“Our head coach and our general manager will be out in the community doing what they need to do, as will the business side,” Scheer said. “I have every confidence that this will be a wonderful market for us, and if early ticket sales are any indication, we’ll be OK.”
