VANCOUVER — A new chapter of Vancouver’s hockey history is being written at the Pacific Coliseum.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League’s new expansion team, the Goldeneyes, hit the ice at the storied stadium for the first time Monday to start training camp.
“The Coliseum has a rich legacy of Vancouver sports history,” said Tania Richards, the team’s director of business operations. “We are incredibly proud to honour that heritage while also helping to usher in a new era of professional women’s hockey in this city.”
Owned by the PNE, the Coliseum first opened in 1968 and has played host to many notable hockey moments, from Game 4 of the 1972 Summit Series to the Vancouver Canucks 1994 playoff run, which ended in a Game 7 loss to the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup final.
The stadium was also home to figure skating and short-track speedskating at the 2010 Olympics, and was where the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants won the 2007 Memorial Cup.
A variety of musical acts, from Jimi Hendrix and Kiss to The Rolling Stones and David Bowie, have performed at the Coliseum, too.
“There’s just so much deep history in this building,” said Shelley Frost, the PNE’s president and CEO. “And now, to have a new professional women’s hockey team as a new tenant in this building, it’s going to breathe new life and new history into this incredible venue.”
The PNE spent more than $6 million to upgrade the building and prepare it for the PWHL season, improving the lighting, renovating the locker rooms and adding a new scoreboard.
The updates are the most significant renovations the stadium has undergone since it was refurbished ahead of the 2010 Olympics, Frost said.
Vancouver is the lone PWHL team that is the main tenant at its stadium, and the only one that will have its logo displayed at centre ice year-round.
The bright blue, yellow and rust-coloured image was unveiled for the first time on Monday. An outline of the logo repeats all along the centre red line.
“It’s a privilege we do not take lightly. It’s a powerful statement of place and pride,” Richards said of having the image in the middle of the rink. “This is our home. This is where Vancouver will gather, and this is where the next generation of hockey inspiration will take flight along with the ice.”
Having the logo at centre ice is a “historic moment,” said Goldeneyes goalie Emerance Maschmeyer.
“This is so uncommon, and it shouldn’t be,” she said. “To be the first in our league to have this is super special, and I hope other teams and franchises follow suit, but it’s so special to make this our own.
“It’s really, really exciting for women’s hockey, but women’s sports as well.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2025.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
