As expected, PWHL Toronto is going to have a new home venue for its second ever season.
The team confirmed yesterday it will move from the 2,600-seat Mattamy Athletic Centre to the more spacious 8,500-seat Coca-Cola Coliseum.
There they will join the AHL Marlies and a year from now, the as yet unnamed Toronto WNBA franchise.
The PWHL had a nice testing period for the new arena as all three of Toronto’s home playoff games were hosted there. The team averaged 8,500 over the three games, and other than a premature exit from the playoffs, gave Toronto’s PWHL entry everything it could have hoped.
The crowd was electric and the building sold out all three nights.
From the players to the coaching staff to management, there were only positives about their first year at Mattamy, an intimate building which had the ability to get very loud but was limited in terms of seating.
The move to Coca-Cola is in line with the overall league effort to provide more ticket availability across the PHWL.
“We are excited to be calling Coca-Cola Coliseum our home for the upcoming season,” PWHL Toronto general manager Gina Kingsbury said. “We look forward to creating an atmosphere that will be a unique and special sporting experience unlike anything else in Toronto.”
The team, however, will continue to train and practise in its inaugural season training facility at Ford Performance Centre, which also serves as the practice rinks for both the Leafs and Marlies.
Season tickets for PWHL Toronto’s second season will be communicated soon according to a release put out by the club. Priority access will be provided to 2024 Season Ticket Members and to fans who have joined the waitlist or subscribed to the team’s e-newsletter.
The second PWHL season will begin earlier than last year’s Jan. 1 start with each team playing 30 games in the regular season including hosting 15 games. The league remains committed to spreading the league around so some each team’s 15 home games could become neutral-site games.