19,285 fans sell out Scotiabank Arena for the Battle on Bay Street
TORONTO, ON (February 16, 2024) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Battle on Bay Street presented by Coca-Cola, featuring PWHL Toronto against PWHL Montréal, attracted a sold-out crowd of 19,285 to Scotiabank Arena tonight and became the best-attended women’s hockey game in history. The crowd surpassed the 18,013 at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship for a preliminary round game between Canada and Finland in Ottawa on April 5, 2013.
The previous attendance record for a professional women’s hockey game was 13,316, for PWHL Minnesota against PWHL Montréal, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., on Jan. 6.
“Once again, PWHL fans have made history,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President, Hockey Operations. “With a record-setting performance on a national stage, our fans made the Battle on Bay Street an unforgettable, inspirational moment — and we couldn’t be more appreciative.”
“We are beyond excited to get to play in front of a sold-out crowd at Scotiabank Arena,” said Gina Kingsbury, PWHL Toronto General Manager. “The support of our fans has been incredibly empowering, and we feel privileged to get the opportunity to represent them and this world class city.”
Hefford was captain of Canada’s National Women’s Team during the 2013 Women’s Worlds and played in the game that set the previous women’s hockey attendance record. Four PWHL players also competed in that game and tonight’s Battle on Bay Street, including Marie-Philip Poulin of Montréal and Jocelyne Larocque, Lauriane Rougeau, and Natalie Spooner of Toronto. Hefford, Kingsbury, and Poulin all were part of the Olympic women’s hockey attendance record of 16,805 set in Vancouver 2010 for the gold medal game between Canada and the United States.
This is the fourth time the PWHL has set an attendance record in its inaugural season, and each game has involved PWHL Montréal. In addition to the Battle on Bay Street and the Jan. 6 game in Minnesota, a crowd of 8,646 packed Place Bell as PWHL Montréal hosted PWHL Ottawa on Jan. 27. That game set the previous attendance record for a professional women’s hockey game played in Canada – surpassing the 8,318 in attendance on Jan. 2 when the two teams met at The Arena at TD Place.
Visit thepwhl.com to purchase tickets and merchandise, and subscribe to the PWHL e-newsletter to receive the latest league updates. Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus all six team accounts @pwhl_boston, @pwhl_minnesota, @pwhl_montreal, @pwhl_newyork, @pwhl_ottawa, and @pwhl_toronto.
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