Detroit sports executive Ryan Gustafson sat in the third row of the city's historic Fox Theater during last week's PWHL Draft, awaiting the second round of picks for the new PWHL Detroit team.
When the time came, Ilitch Companies CEO Chris Ilitch left his seat next to Gustafson to take the stage and select, along with Detroit GM Manon Rhéaume, the Swiss goalkeeper, Andrea. Brandli.
That selection, made in front of a large crowd inside the Fox Theatre, was the culmination of years of work behind the scenes to bring women's professional hockey to Detroit.
“It's just time to stay with him [Ilitch] and both of us being happy and proud, both of us, of how it came together and believing in what was going to happen – it was a really great time,” said Gustafson, who is president and CEO of Ilitch Sports + Entertainment, which owns the MLB's Detroit Tigers and the NHL's Detroit Red Wings.
After that, there was more history being made. The public didn't know it yet, but the PWHL had already finalized a deal to accept private investment from the Ilitch Companies and Toronto businessman Larry Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports Ventures.
The investment, according to a report from Sportico and the Canadian Press, is worth more than $100 million, although neither Gustafson nor PWHL officials would confirm the financial details.
But Gustafson described it as a “significant” investment that reflects the company's belief in the growth of the league and women's hockey.
“I think it's an unbelievable way to come out of the Olympics with the momentum the sport has,” Gustafson told CBC Sports.
It's been less than four years since PWHL was founded, owned by Mark and Kimbra Walter of The Walter Group. The sole proprietorship structure is unchanged with the investment announced this week.
“We have the money to deal with our mission, which is to make our league sustainable,” said Stan Kasten, a veteran sportsman who sits on the PWHL's advisory board, in an interview. “I've been feeling that way since the beginning before these new investors came in. I feel very strongly about it today.”
'We were immediately interested'
The interest from the Ilitch Companies dates back to 2023, when Kasten and Royce Cohen, another PWHL advisory board member, were working to build PWHL on behalf of the Walters.
Kasten, who has run various teams in the NHL, MLB and NBA over the past four decades, goes back more than 30 years with the Ilitch family.
“When was our first conversation [Kasten and Cohen] started getting involved with the league,” Gustafson said. “I would say the Takeover Tour games really opened up the conversation about franchise expansion and the right time for that, for them and for us. And since they were looking for partners from a financial point of view, we were at the top of their list and we were immediately interested.”
There was a target for what PWHL executives wanted to raise in the first round of fundraising. They decided to exceed that amount “because of who these guys were,” Kasten said, referring to both the Ilitch Companies and Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports Ventures.
Kasten has also known Tanenbaum for decades, having worked with him in the NHL and NBA. Tanenbaum is a minority owner of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors, among other sports teams. He is also the majority owner of the WNBA's Toronto Tempo.
“Their reputation is very good with investors, with sports people,” Kasten said of the two investment groups.
But they weren't the only people interested in investing in the PWHL.
At a recent MLB owners' meeting, Kasten – who is also the president of the Los Angeles Dodgers – asked questions about when the PWHL will do another round of sponsorships.
“There are no short-term plans for multiple teams or individual ownership or additional fundraising — none of those things are on our immediate menu of things to discuss,” Kasten said. “For now, we need to get four teams up in a short amount of time.”
The investment comes as the league grows
The investment comes as the PWHL recently expanded its territory, mostly across the United States. In addition to Detroit, the league added new teams in Hamilton, Las Vegas and San Jose.
The three-year-old league has yet to make any money, as Kasten told CBC Sports earlier this year. Each expansion team costs the league more money, and the PWHL added six additional teams in a short period of time.
But it's a long-term game for The Walter Group, which is still eyeing a major US broadcast rights deal.
The league's single organizational structure, with one small advisory board making decisions, made it easier for the league to grow quickly, Kasten said. It means dealing with a handful of people instead of individual owners across the continent.
“The building that we have is what makes all of this possible, and I know that people who are not familiar with this building find it difficult to digest,” said Kasten. “This couldn't be done this quickly or this could be done amicably with six or eight different owners with different plans and different budgets and different time constraints and different political views in their city.”
American hockey defender Caroline (KK) Harvey has had a number of honors in the past year, such as the MVP of the 2026 Olympic tournament and the International Ice Hockey Federation's Female Player of the Year. After being selected No. 1 overall by the Vancouver Goldeneyes of the Professional Women's Hockey League, she spoke with CBC's On The Coast about her first day in town and what mindset she hopes to bring to the team.
For Ilitch Companies, the interest in the league was there even without the possibility of having a particular team right now.
The growth of women's hockey is at the core of the company's beliefs, Gustafson said. He pointed to Ilitch Companies founder Marian Ilitch, who is one of the first women to have her name engraved on the Stanley Cup.
“We are happy to dedicate our time, energy and emotions, but also financially to support their growth,” said Gustafson. “Obviously at the moment it's a one-company structure and if it stays that way, well, we believe in it. And if there are opportunities down the road as teams may end up being sold, then we'll explore that as well.”
