Tour de force

The GIST: We’re six stops into the PWHL’s third Takeover Tour, which expanded significantly this year in terms of length, number of stops, and brand partners. While Canadian tour stops are pulling more fans than U.S. ones, the tour is proving successful in every city when it comes to attendance.

• As we previously covered, the Takeover Tour is a prime opportunity for brands to test the PWHL waters and reach engaged fans — and it’s also an easy way for existing PWHL partners to branch out and reach new audiences. Let’s drop that puck.

The numbers: Overall, attendance is lower than last year’s tour: 9K through the first four games compared to 13K over all nine in last year’s tour, with Canadian markets experiencing a stronger showing than larger U.S. markets. Some of this may be chalked up to novelty: Repeat stops Detroit and Edmonton saw smaller audiences than last year but still drew crowds (9.6K and 10.2K, respectively).

• Dallas (8.5K) and Chicago (7.2K) saw the lowest numbers so far, but new Canadian stops in Halifax and Hamilton fared especially well. Halifax recorded a 10.4K sellout, while Hamilton’s 16K crowd was the biggest on this year’s tour so far and the fourth-highest in the tour’s three-year history, hence its consideration as a permanent market.

The context: Despite the lower numbers, the PWHL is still overperforming when it comes to drawing a crowd for women’s sports. These days, the WNBA and NWSL are drawing 11K and 10.6K average crowds, respectively, and while overall PWHL crowds average 7.2K, they’re steadily increasing and notably higher than other new leagues, like MLV or AUSL.

The takeaway: Six stops in, the Takeover Tour is still faring well and drawing massive crowds, proving sustainability in returning markets and the ability to permeate new ones, especially in Canada. The PWHL is using the tour to drive new fandom and cultivate community, a tactic other emerging leagues are utilizing via traveling tours.

• And just as leagues use tours to engage new fans, brands can use them as a jumping-off point for bigger league partnerships. Interestingly, companies hardly engaged around last year’s tour, but are already capitalizing on the PWHL presence in specific locales this year, like BJ’s Wholesale Club in Dallas and Ally Financial in Detroit. Home sweet home.

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