Detroit draws 14,288 fans to watch PWHL game, setting U.S. record for pro women's hockey game
Fans get excited during the first period of a PWHL game between the New York Sirens and the Minnesota Frost, at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit, Sunday, March 16, 2025. Credit: AP/David Guralnick
DETROIT — The Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens played in front of 14,288 fans Sunday night, setting an attendance record for a professional women's hockey game in the United States.
“It's another extremely, big win for the sport globally,” Frost forward Kendall Coyne Schofield said after the Sirens' 4-1 win. “It's important to tip our hockey helmet to Detroit.”
The Professional Women’s Hockey League game broke the mark as part of its Takeover Tour of potential expansion venues at Little Caesars Arena, a year after 13,736 fans watched women on the same sheet of ice at the home of the Detroit Red Wings.
Denver drew 14,018 fans to set the previous U.S. record two months ago in another neutral-site game featuring the Frost and the Montreal Victoire.
The world attendance record for a women's hockey was set nearly a year ago when 21,105 people were in the stands for a PWHL game between Montreal and Toronto in the NHL Canadiens’ arena.
The largest crowd to watch a women's hockey game in the U.S. was set in 2017 when 15,359 attended St. Cloud State's game at Wisconsin. In 2022 in Seattle, 14,551 fans watched the U.S. women's national team beat Canada.
During the first period of the Frost-Sirens game, the PWHL announced more than 1 million fans have attended games since the league made its debut last season. Players from both teams gave fans in the stands pucks that commemorated the milestone.
A fan holds a sign indicating a desire for an PWHL team to come to Detroit during the first period of a PWHL game between the New York Sirens and the Minnesota Frost, at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit, Sunday, March 16, 2025. Credit: AP/David Guralnick
The six-team league is averaging more than 7,000 fans a game after drawing 5,500 fans a game during the regular season last year.
St. Louis is hosting the ninth and final stop of the Takeover Tour on March 29 when the Ottawa Charge face the Boston Fleet with a little more than a month left in the regular season.
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