Tanenbaum’s Kilmer Sports Ventures invests in Professional Women’s Hockey League

June 22, 2026

The Professional Women’s Hockey League has taken its first outside investments, selling strategic partnerships to Kilmer Sports Ventures (led by Larry Tanenbaum) and the Ilitch Companies as the league moves from sole founder financing toward outside capital. The investments come after the league expanded from eight to 12 teams for 2026–27 and are structured as stakes in the single-entity enterprise rather than purchases of individual teams; both partners will serve in advisory, not operational, roles.sportsbusinessjournal+1

Reports indicate Kilmer contributed a substantial sum (reported as about US$100 million by one source) and that the move is intended to help sustain rapid growth, add commercial expertise, and support the PWHL’s next phase while preserving centralized league operations established by its original backers. League and investor statements frame the partnerships as long-term support for growth and commercialization of women’s professional hockey, bringing prominent North American sports ownership groups into the sport as it scales up.larongenow+3

Overall, the deal signals confidence from established sports investors and provides the PWHL with fresh capital and advisory resources as it pursues expansion, greater market presence, and commercial development while keeping team operations under the league’s single-entity model. The Star