New Lakers owner Mark Walter has had significant impact in women’s hockey

Mark Walter (pictured left) (Japanese Prime Minister's Office, Wikimedia Commons)

The Los Angeles Lakers have made sports headlines this past week as Los Angeles Dodgers primary owner Mark Walter of Cedar Rapids, Iowa (pictured left) has become the primary owner of the famous NBA franchise in southern California. The sale from the Buss family is $10 million according to FOX Sports.

Many in the sports world are familiar with Walter’s role in Major League Baseball. He co-owns the franchise with several individuals, along with sports icons Billie Jean King and Magic Johnson.

I, like Canadians, are familiar with Walter’s role and impact in women’s hockey. What Walter has achieved in the Professional Women’s Hockey League is monumental. For many years there were leagues for elite women’s hockey players to participate in. I had the privilege and honour of being the public address announcer of the Oval Xtreme of the National Women’s Hockey League and Western Women’s Hockey League. However, the leagues struggled in developing a strong business model, struggled in generating publicity, the attendance numbers dwindled, games were rarely shown on television, and most importantly, the players were not able to make enough income from hockey itself to live comfortably.

With Walter’s expertise, he has changed the landscape of women’s hockey. The PWHL (Professional Women’s Hockey League) was established in 2024. There are currently eight teams in the league who play for the Walter Cup. Have there been struggles? The answer is yes. But with Walter’s commitment and dedication, women’s hockey has been taken significantly more seriously, and female hockey players worldwide have an individual league to aspire to participate in other than just the Olympic Winter Games and Women’s World Hockey Championship. Walter has emerged into a multi-sport business innovator, and the Lakers are the latest beneficiary.

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