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According to Jackie Smith, a municipal councillor in Quebec City, the PWHL neutral site game to be held in Quebec City on January 19 is “a first victory” for the city.
After opening the 18,259 seat Videotron Centre in Quebec City in 2015, the City has sought an NHL team with no avail. But more recently, local authorities, including Limoilou councillor Jackie Smith have started to change direction in hopes of attracting a PWHL franchise to the city.
“For several months we have been working on the issue, we are holding press briefings, citizens are working with me to contact people in the community and attract the attention of the league,” Smith wrote in a translated statement. “Now the league is giving us attention and we will not miss this opportunity. We will arrange for it to be a great big celebration and for Quebec City to be first on the list when there is an expansion of the league.”
The January 19 game, which has yet to be formally announced by the PWHL will take place between the Ottawa Charge and the Montreal Victoire.
Several prominent members of the Montreal Victoire will be playing in front of home fans in the capital city of la belle province. Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin, goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens and forward Catherine Dubois are all from Quebec.
The NHL played preseason action in Quebec City this year as the local government paid $7 million to host a pair of games featuring the Los Angeles Kings hosting the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers. The first game of the stand saw 17,334 fans in attendance.
Last season the PWHL played a pair of neutral site games in Pittsburgh and Detroit. The Detroit game set a new American attendance record for professional women’s hockey seeing 13,736 fans. Scotiabank Arena in Toronto drew 19,285 for a PWHL game last season, while Montreal set a new professional women’s hockey attendance record welcoming 21,105 fans to the Bell Centre.
With the success of teams in Canada last season, including PWHL Ottawa leading the league in average attendance, Toronto selling out all home games, and Montreal drawing more than 10,000 fans on multiple occasions at their games in Laval, the PWHL is bringing more hockey to Canadian markets.
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