The sold-out Climate Pledge Arena crowd at Seattle’s first game back post Olympics is the third U.S. attendance record for women’s hockey the PWHL has set this season
SEATTLE, WA (February 27, 2026) – In a continued wave of momentum for the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) coming off the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, the Seattle Torrent set a new U.S. arena record for a women’s hockey game with 17,335 fans at their first-ever Climate Pledge Arena sellout on Friday night versus the Toronto Sceptres.
This is the third time the PWHL has broken the U.S. arena attendance record this season; the Torrent previously set the record at their inaugural home opener against the Minnesota Frost on November 28, 2025 in front of 16,014 fans at Climate Pledge Arena, which was then surpassed in Washington, DC at the PWHL Takeover Tour™ with 17,228 fans filling Capital One Arena for the matchup between the Montréal Victoire and New York Sirens.
The benchmark continues what has already been a record-breaking Season Three for the PWHL, with attendance up 17% season-over-season through 61 games at the Olympic break. With 61 athletes (30% of the PWHL) representing their countries at Milano Cortina 2026 and returning with 41 medals, the Winter Games have led to another surge of growth, with numbers continuing to climb:
- On February 24 and 25, the league saw its two biggest home venue tickets sales days of the season since November 22, the season’s first weekend
- During the month of February, merchandise sales increased 101% compared to the season-to-date trend prior to the Olympics
- The PWHL's 61 Olympians collectively increased their social followings by 38% and more than 760K followers, from puck drop in Italy through February 25
- Website traffic was almost 6x higherduring the Olympic period compared to a typical non-PWHL game period, while 73% of website traffic represented new users visiting thepwhl.com for the first time during the Olympics.
- On YouTube, PWHL video views increased 200% over the Olympic period
The groundswell of enthusiasm for women’s hockey comes as the PWHL prepares to showcase the game to larger audiences at three non-primary home venues: Ottawa Charge (April 3 at Canadian Tire Centre); New York Sirens (April 4 at Madison Square Garden); and Boston Fleet (April 11 at TD Garden).
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