How Edmonton is becoming a Canadian women’s sports havenHow Edmonton is becoming a Canadian women’s sports haven
How Edmonton is becoming a Canadian women’s sports haven
Edmonton, Alberta, is a unique place. At roughly 1.2M residents, it’s dwarfed by larger Canadian cities like Toronto and Metro Vancouver — and though it doesn’t have its own professional women’s sports team, it’s become a hot spot for major women’s sporting events. That’s largely thanks to its tourism board, Explore Edmonton, which sees the economic and social value in these events. We spoke with sport and culture events director Cindy Medynski about why this strategy serves Edmonton and what other cities can learn. Small but mighty.
April 25, 2026
The NWSL awards 18th franchise to Columbus, Ohio as league considers marketing power of multi-franchise sports ownersThe NWSL awards 18th franchise to Columbus, Ohio as league considers marketing power of multi-franchise sports owners
The NWSL awards 18th franchise to Columbus, Ohio as league considers marketing power of multi-franchise sports owners
April 23, 2026
On Tuesday, the NWSL awarded its 18th franchise to Columbus, Ohio for a record $205M expansion fee, up from Atlanta’s $165M fee in 2025. NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman cited the region’s affinity for soccer as a key factor, but so was the money the ownership group put down: $300M between the expansion fee and a new bespoke training facility.
Read Full Story
 The pros and cons of the NWSL’s potential calendar change and will a Canadian team finally win the Stanley Cup The pros and cons of the NWSL’s potential calendar change and will a Canadian team finally win the Stanley Cup

It’s been 33 years since a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup, and with the second round of the playoffs underway, just one squad remains in contention: the Montreal Canadiens. On today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz dig deep on the Habs, the NHL’s youngest team, before highlighting the other NHL playoff series that has our undivided attention. After that, in today’s Personal Training Session, El and Steph answer GISTer questions about a potential change to the NWSL.

Continue Reading