PWHL Announces Expansion to San Jose

On Tuesday, May 19, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) held a press conference in San Jose to announce that the league’s 12th team will play in the California city. This marks the fourth team to join the PWHL for the 2026-27 season, and the sixth expansion team in the league’s three-season history.

All of San Jose’s games will be played at the SAP Center, the same arena as the San Jose Sharks. They will also train at Sharks Ice in San Jose. 

PWHL San Jose has not announced their name yet, but they have announced the team’s colors, which will be orange, blue, and white. The orange is a nod to the Sharks, while the blue is a nod to the California coastline. They will likely play under the name PWHL San Jose for their first season, just like Seattle and Vancouver did this season. Ahead of the 2025-26 season, Seattle and Vancouver announced their team name, so hopefully San Jose will do the same. 

San Jose never hosted a PWHL Takeover Tour game; however, the PWHL team being hosted in San Jose will add to the women’s sports teams already playing in the Bay Area. The area is already home to the Golden State Valkyries of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBA) and the Bay FC of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). The Bay Area is a great, up-and-coming area for women’s sports, and PWHL San Jose will be a great addition to the women’s sports culture that the Bay Area is already building.

A press conference to announce more details surrounding PWHL San Jose is scheduled for 12:30 PT.