Larry Tanenbaum’s Kilmer Sports Ventures and the Detroit-based Ilitch Companies are investing in the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
Tanenbaum, through Kilmer, owns the WNBA’s Toronto Tempo and is a minority owner of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the NHL’s Maple Leafs and NBA’s Raptors, among other Toronto-based sports properties.
Ilitch Companies is the parent of Ilitch Sports + Entertainment, the owner of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings and MLB’s Detroit Tigers, as well as Little Caesars Arena.
A source tells The Canadian Press that Kilmer has invested $100 million directly into the PWHL.
Both Kilmer and Ilitch are joining the league as strategic partners, serving in advisory rather than operational roles. Neither company is investing in a particular team.
They are the PWHL’s first outside investors since the league was established in 2023 by the Mark Walter Group and Billie Jean King Enterprises.