Playing in an NHL-Sized Arena
Announced on March 12th, Professional Women’s Hockey League Toronto and Montreal, Canadian rivals, will be facing off on April 20th at the home of the Montreal Canadiens, the Bell Centre.
This will be the sixth time the PWHL has held a game at an NHL-sized rink. After the last was held at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, these two teams filled the stadium with 19,285 fans to watch the “Battle on Bay Street.”
The game broke the record for most in-person fans in attendance at a PWHL game. The Bell Centre holds a whopping 21,000 fans. The game scheduled to take place is expected to exceed the record, but, the question remains, can Montreal bring out more fans than Toronto did?
“Duel at the Top”
This upcoming battle between Toronto and Montreal is sponsored by Rogers and is bringing a new meaning to “rivalry.”
With this and the previous “Battle on Bay Street,” Toronto and Montreal are solidifying a promising rivalry for the league. With the well known rivalry between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, these PWHL teams seem to be hopping on the bandwagon, and following in the same footsteps.
What does this mean for the league?
The “Duel at the Top” game is a significant marketing move by the PWHL. Women’s sports, and women’s hockey in particular have struggled in the past with growing and maintaining a fanbase.
This growing rivalry is promising in terms of increasing revenue on the viewership side of things. These two games, “The Battle on Bay Street,” and upcoming “Duel at the Top,” are only enforcing the rivalry of the teams, and in turn is a clever way to build up strong fan bases, providing a sense of community for these two teams in their respective cities.
This is a step in the right direction in promoting and developing the PWHL into a league that is going to be successful, long lasting and most importantly going to showcase women’s hockey to the world.