OT: Seattle applies for NHL expansion franchise

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OT: Seattle applies for NHL expansion franchise

Postby RiverDog » Tue Feb 13, 2018 7:39 pm

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/hoc ... -keyarena/

Sorry for the non-football topic, but it is the offseason, and the slowest sports news period of the year, so what the heck!

I've always felt that Seattle is a prime city for NHL hockey, and with their proximity to Vancouver, BC, the NHL has the potential of a Yankees/Red Sox-type rivalry. The only thing I don't like is that I felt that Chris Hanson's proposal to build an arena in SODO is preferential to the hockey group's proposal to remodel Key Arena.
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Re: OT: Seattle applies for NHL expansion franchise

Postby burrrton » Tue Feb 13, 2018 8:25 pm

If you've ever bought non-prime tickets in Key Arena, you know they should level that POS and start over (if not just forget about trying to cram a pro sports venue into the cramped tourist trap of Seattle Center).

NHL in Seattle? YES, PLEASE! I'll buy season tix the day they're available.

SODO venue? Oh for God's sake, please.

Shoehorning them into Key Arena, even if it's revamped? Do you want your effort to fail??
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Re: OT: Seattle applies for NHL expansion franchise

Postby Seahawks4Ever » Wed Feb 14, 2018 12:12 am

The prospective ownership group should shitcan the Key Arena venue and simply buy out Chris Hansen and take over his deal The problem with Hansen was he wasn't flexible enough to go with getting an NHL team first, EVERYTHING to Hansen DEPENDED on acquiring an NBA team first and an NHL team second. The ONLY time Hansen tried to get the MOU changed wasn't to make acquiring an NHL and NBA an either/or thing. No, Hansen just wanted to change the MOU so he could get a street vacated, a street he wouldn't even need vacated for several years. To Hansen, an NHL team was an after thought, a something someone else would have to provide. Hansen then went out of his way to turn the NBA off on him. Hansen's SODO dream died when Steve Ballmer bought his own team and left Hansen w/o the deep pocketed partner he needed to make the whole deal work. Hansen has NEVER found another "sugar daddy".

But renovate the Coliseum, er, Key Arena (why is it still called Key Arena?? Is that bank even in business any more??) There just isn't enough room at the Seattle Center to tear down and build an arena that both the NHL AND the NBA would accept. I heard these new people say they could renovate the Key into one that would hold 16 to 17k for basketball or hockey. That is way too SMALL! It would have to be at least 20K capacity and 22 to 24K would be even better.

So, like I said, they should make Hansen an offer he can't refuse and buy him out, that beats the barrel he is going to have to wear otherwise...
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Re: OT: Seattle applies for NHL expansion franchise

Postby jshawaii22 » Wed Feb 14, 2018 12:15 am

If a new Seattle team can do 1/2 of what the Vegas Golden Knights are doing, you'll be all set. All you need is a nice, shiny new 3/4 billion $$$ MGM Arena to setup shop in. Good Luck with that in this day and age.
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Re: OT: Seattle applies for NHL expansion franchise

Postby RiverDog » Wed Feb 14, 2018 6:31 am

burrrton wrote:If you've ever bought non-prime tickets in Key Arena, you know they should level that POS and start over (if not just forget about trying to cram a pro sports venue into the cramped tourist trap of Seattle Center).

NHL in Seattle? YES, PLEASE! I'll buy season tix the day they're available.

SODO venue? Oh for God's sake, please.

Shoehorning them into Key Arena, even if it's revamped? Do you want your effort to fail??


That's my sentiment, too, but for a little different reason. The arena isn't as much as a problem as its location away from major freeways and transit. If you think that traffic and parking is difficult at the Clink and Safeco...not for me, I know where to park for free and be across Mercer Island 15 minutes after exiting the stadium gates...try getting to/from Seattle Center, especially mid week. Plus there's not the number of bars and restaurants close by as there is within walking distance of SODO, and the waterfront is several miles away.

But it's better than nothing. Chris Hanson had his chance and hasn't been able to bring basketball back. Perhaps he should have gone hard after an NHL franchise first instead of being so obsessed with the NBA.
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Re: OT: Seattle applies for NHL expansion franchise

Postby NorthHawk » Wed Feb 14, 2018 10:12 am

I've never been to that arena, but to put $600 million into renovations could mean a much better experience.
This is a no brainer for the NHL. A short trip from Vancouver now makes a West Coast road swing that much easier for Eastern teams.
As well, it increases the teams to an even 32 for the league.
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Re: OT: Seattle applies for NHL expansion franchise

Postby RiverDog » Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:25 am

NorthHawk wrote:I've never been to that arena, but to put $600 million into renovations could mean a much better experience.
This is a no brainer for the NHL. A short trip from Vancouver now makes a West Coast road swing that much easier for Eastern teams.
As well, it increases the teams to an even 32 for the league.


The problem with Key Arena has always been its footprint. Currently the most that arena can seat for hockey is about 12,000, which as you know isn't nearly enough for the NHL. In the past they've even expressed doubts that it could be used as a temporary NHL home while a new one was built. The new remodel must include enlarging the area it covers.

And you're right, this is a no brainer. Seattle is flush with people that make enough money to buy season tickets, especially when you consider that there's no NBA competition. And there's a large corporate presence, not the least of which is Microsoft and Amazon. An NHL team would have the run of the city during the winter months. I don't know why it's taken them this long to put a team in here. They've had viable proposals in the recent past that went nowhere.
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Re: OT: Seattle applies for NHL expansion franchise

Postby Largent80 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:34 am

When I lived in Lake Stevens we used to drive all the way to the center to watch T-Bird games, man that was a lot of fun and a lot of the guys ended up in the NHL and even the coach.

I hope Seattle gets an NHL team.
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Re: OT: Seattle applies for NHL expansion franchise

Postby Seahawks4Ever » Thu Mar 01, 2018 10:39 pm

The venue at the Seattle Center was renovated in the middle 1990's, one of the3 ways the chronically CHEAP Seattle City Council paid for the "face lift" was to sell the naming rights, hence, it was renamed Key Arena, or, the KEY. One of the OTHER ways the council was able to pay for the repairs (it was originally supposed to be a temporary building to be torn down after the 1952 Worlds Fair) was to sign its anchor tenant the Seattle Super Sonics to an "iron clad" 20 year lease with a penalty clause should the Sonics be stupid enough to try and break the lease.

We ALL know what happened, Clay Bennett and some other investors bought the team from that PUKE Howard Schultz (I STILL will not patronize Starbucks) who, like a BABY decided to sell the team when the state legislature balked at paying for a brand new venue when the renovations of the Key had only been done a few years earlier and were not yet paid for. Shultz and that even bigger PUKE David Stern, the former NBA Commish. both got their panties in a wad after the legislature turned them down. Stern had previously had PRAISED the Key and the renovations and had NO PROBLEM with the venue. But, since that time the legislature had been integral in building both the Mariners and the Seahawks BRAND NEW STADIUMS. Since between the 3 our Sonics had been around longer and had been much more successful( 3 championship trips and 1 title) than the perennial loser Mariners and at that time almost as bad Seahawks. So, you can understand that the Sonics were a little put out.

What is REALLTY BAD is that the Mayor at the time Greg Nickels instead of enforcing that iron clad lease Nickels CAVED IN when it was challenged in court. He claimed that the BEST WAY to go was to LET the team go so as to NOT anger David Stern and the NBA and THAT would be the best way to get a new franchise. WE ARE STILL WAITING!!!! To add insult to injury the judge said later she would have ruled in favor of the city. To add even FURTHER INSULT to INJURY Bennett's main partner and Bennett were recorded admitting that IF they had lost the case (they would have!) that their financing scheme would have CRASHED and they would have been forced to give up the team, it would have REVERTED BACK TO SCHULTZ who by then wanted the team back.

Now, I could post on how both the city of Seattle AND King County conspired to mess over David Ackerley, but THAT is another story.

BUT, one more thing! David Ackerley was suing both the city and the county for conspiring to confiscate the land that would eventually become Safeco Field. Ackerley was suspicious of the city and didn't want to play second fiddle to a possible NHL team which h the city was even then pursuing. SO! Ackerley had a few demands, one was luxury boxes though there was no good place to put them but, they agreed. The Sonics never did make very much money on THAT mistake. The OTHER demand that the city agreed to was that the new seating configuration would be such that would make the KEY very very unsuitable for Hockey, especially NHL hockey. The main way they destroyed the venue for hockey was because they took out the ice rink that was UNDER the basketball floor.

The T-Birds and before them the Totems had played hockey for years at a smaller venue at the Seattle Center simply called the Arena. But, the Coliseum (the Key) HAD been used for hockey before just as for exhibitions such as the Ice Capades and Ice Follies but after the renovations the venue would NEVER be any good for NHL hockey.

But WAIT! The T-Birds DID play there for several years before they for their new arena in Kent, Wa. Until their new venue opened watching hockey at the Key was HORRIBLE! They had to bring in portable seats and a temporary ice rink and the seating and site lines were BEYOND BAD. It was an oval seating arrangement at one end and open ended at the other. So, in order to make that building viable again they WILL have to TEAR down the old building and start all over and I have NOT heard or read anywhere that they are prepared to do that.

One big problem is that the city doesn't want to lose revenue to the county which is exactly what will happen IF an arena is built on the Hansen sight, which IS the best and IMHO the ONLY sight which is viable. So, it boils down to politics, plain and simple. If you knew the story about how Ackerley tried to build his own venue (where the Mariners play) people would understand how it got to this point and it is NOT the fault of the legislature and lies at the feet of successive Seattle Mayors. County Executives, and both of their respective councils. Did I mention democrats controlled both government entities???
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Re: OT: Seattle applies for NHL expansion franchise

Postby obiken » Fri Mar 02, 2018 2:34 am

RiverDog wrote:https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/hockey/seattle-group-files-application-for-nhl-expansion-team-to-play-at-keyarena/

Sorry for the non-football topic, but it is the offseason, and the slowest sports news period of the year, so what the heck!

I've always felt that Seattle is a prime city for NHL hockey, and with their proximity to Vancouver, BC, the NHL has the potential of a Yankees/Red Sox-type rivalry. The only thing I don't like is that I felt that Chris Hanson's proposal to build an arena in SODO is preferential to the hockey group's proposal to remodel Key Arena.



Riv I would like to see NHL In PDX, but Seattle is probably a done deal. We think Allen would dump the Blazers and get a new NBA team in Seattle. Only thing stoping him is the NFL. How many sports franchises can you own.
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Re: OT: Seattle applies for NHL expansion franchise

Postby RiverDog » Fri Mar 02, 2018 6:32 am

obiken wrote:Riv I would like to see NHL In PDX, but Seattle is probably a done deal. We think Allen would dump the Blazers and get a new NBA team in Seattle. Only thing stoping him is the NFL. How many sports franchises can you own.


The NHL isn't going to move into a small market already dominated by the NBA.

I'm not sure why owning an NFL franchise is preventing Allen from dumping the Blazers and joining efforts already in progress to get an NBA team in Seattle. There is no rule against ownership in multiple leagues. Besides, money or potential ownership isn't what is keeping Seattle from getting an NBA team. There is no franchise currently on the market nor has the NBA expressed any desire to expand. IMO the NBA is holding their expansion card(s) and waiting for an international opportunity to arise (say Mexico City).

Edit: I see where Seattle sold 25,000 season ticket commitments in just two hours after they went on sale. That was one of the criteria the NHL had for approving the franchise.
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Re: OT: Seattle applies for NHL expansion franchise

Postby Seahawks4Ever » Mon Mar 05, 2018 11:29 am

We be ripe for an NHL franchise, our metro area can financially support all of the major sports franchises and even a few medium ones. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL,WNBA, UW Football, UW basketball both men and women's teams, Seattle U. Basketball. We CAN support it all! But, no, not at the Seattle Center and its small tiny weeny foot print, lack of parking, but does have excellent access to mass transit which is about the only thing it has going for it.
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