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Post by mikecubs on Jul 27, 2018 14:11:55 GMT -6
Seattle Center arena project to cost $700 millionOak View Group will pick up the cost overruns on a new arena at Seattle Center. The new arena at Seattle Center is going to cost millions more than originally expected. Marshall Foster, who is helping lead the city's mitigation of the KeyArena project, said the Oak View Group now says the project cost is likely north of $700 million. Foster made the announcement at City Hall Thursday as part of the City Council's review of the arena project, which is nearing a final date. OVG signed a memorandum of understanding with the City late last year. However, per the MOU, Foster noted that OVG is picking up all the overruns. Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold was quick to ask whether OVG can handle the debt load. Foster said that OVG could absorb the costs through debt financing and private equity. He also hinted that OVG would announce its lead contractor very soon as well. The City says the project is still on track, despite the higher costs. It plans on having a transportation mobility action plan by September, when the entire project could get a final vote from the Council. Foster's team also unveiled a timeline that includes, officially, a final KeyArena event on October 5 with a pre-season game between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings. KeyArena would then be turned over to OVG on October 15. The National Hockey League could award an expansion franchise to Seattle to play in the new arena in September or October. www.king5.com/article/news/local/arena/seattle-center-arena-project-to-cost-700-million/577767465
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Post by mikecubs on Aug 1, 2018 14:42:48 GMT -6
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Post by iceland2018 on Aug 1, 2018 16:26:57 GMT -6
I would expect the new alignment for the Western Conference as follows (in 2020-21):
WEST:
1. Vancouver 2. Seattle 3. San Jose 4. Los Angeles 5. Anaheim 6. Las Vegas 7. Calgary 8. Edmonton
CENTRAL:
1. Winnipeg 2. Nashville 3. St.Louis 4. Chicago 5. Dallas 6. Colorado 7. Minnesota 8. Arizona
I would love to see the Coyotes move to Houston. I am convinced the NHL is desperate to put a team in Houston, which if I am not mistaken, the #5 US TV Market. There is also the rivalry with Dallas, and it would work so well in terms of aligning the Divisions. The NHL will never work in Phoenix with the Coyotes, as it is a tarnished brand. The best thing to do would be to move the team, and award them an expansion team sometime down the line, especially if they build an arena in 10 years.
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Post by mikecubs on Aug 1, 2018 17:10:03 GMT -6
Me too!!!! Houston is 7th in the US for TV markets(8th if you count Toronto). Combined statistical area is almost 7.1M as of July 2017(10th counting Toronto). Houston is one of the fastest growing cities(6th for CSA's over a million, growing 22ish % every 10 years). Houston is also freaking rich unlike Phoenix. As of 2016 Houston is 4th in fortune 100 companies with 51 compare to Phoenix's 17. They have a beautiful DOWNTOWN arena that is 100% hockey compatible. There are questions about how much the Rockets owner is willing to pay for NHL. Also the NHL could screw this up. I wouldn't put it past them. I could totally see them leaving the Coyotes in Glendale and leaving Houston and Quebec blank.
To go from quasi-major league to major league the league needs Houston(along with Quebec). Every other sport has a team in Houston including minor league soccer. No serious sport can go Houston-less.
As far as another arena in Phoenix it depends what happens with the Suns renovation requests. They want to renovate but want some public help. If that renovation goes through it's unlikely it will be hockey compatible. Another arena would be tough with the one in Glendale and a renovated suns arena. Not enough concerts to go around. I could see NHL coming back someday but after the Suns renovated arena is obsolete which would be more like 20-30 years.
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Post by mikecubs on Oct 4, 2018 15:11:41 GMT -6
Seattle one step closer to NHL after KeyArena renovation plan approvedThe Seattle City Council unanimously approved plans for a privately funded $700 million renovation of KeyArena on Monday, clearing one of the last major hurdles in the city's bid to land an expansion NHL franchise. The 8-0 vote was the last step needed to strengthen Seattle's expansion application and it means a team could be playing in the new building during the 2020-21 season. The next phase in the arena/franchise process comes next week when Seattle Hockey Partners, the ownership group attempting to land the expansion team, presents before the NHL Board of Governors' Executive Committee. "It's a good moment. I think it's the beginning of the journey. It's not the end of the journey. We have a lot of work to do, but at least now we get to go do the work," said Tim Leiweke, CEO of Oak View Group, which is undertaking the renovation of the building that opened in 1962. The vote ended a debate that began in the mid-2000s when Howard Schultz, then the owner of the Seattle SuperSonics, said the city-owned KeyArena needed renovations. The lack of luxury amenities and a challenging lease agreement ultimately led to the Sonics leaving following the 2008 season and moving to Oklahoma City, where the franchise was rebranded as the Thunder. Numerous arena plans have been presented since but none had gotten to this point. And while the vote didn't provide healing for fans hurt by the Sonics move, it did create the likelihood that the city will land an NHL team soon and could one day see the NBA return. For now, the NHL is the priority. The pitch to the Executive Committee next week should be mostly straightforward. Seattle is the largest market in the United States that doesn't have a winter professional sports team. The local economy is booming and season ticket deposits for the prospective team were cut off at 33,000 earlier this year after a swell of interest. "I don't think we have to say much," said Tod Leiweke, President and CEO of Seattle Hockey Partners. "I think it speaks for itself. An 8-0 vote, a process that concluded when many people said it just simply couldn't be done. We said we were going to put our best forward and today the city helps us do that." The goal is to have the building ready by the fall of 2020 so a team could start that season. Hitting that target will depend partly on when construction can actually begin. Part of the agreement with the city requires that an NHL franchise be acquired before arena construction can begin. Whether conditional approval from the NHL or a recommendation from the Executive Committee is enough to begin that process may depend on the city. Either way, Tim Leiweke said every minute is precious in getting the project done in essentially two years. "But there is no reason that we can't hopefully get a little bit of momentum next week and convince people that a November, push-dirt, get in there and start working, works," Leiweke said. The final scheduled event for the arena in its current state is an Oct. 5 NBA exhibition game between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings. At some point after that, the keys will be turned over to Oak View Group. "Now we really get to dream about the National Hockey League, we get to dream about a presentation next week, we get to dream about the return of the NBA. Let's go," Tod Leiweke said. www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2018/09/24/nhl-seattle-keyarena-renovation-approved-city-council/1416282002/
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Post by mikecubs on Oct 4, 2018 15:15:09 GMT -6
Committee recommends proceeding with Seattle's expansion applicationThe NHL is moving forward with plans to expand to Seattle. Commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday the board of governors' executive committee recommended proceeding with Seattle's expansion application, with an eye on voting to approve the league's 32nd franchise in December. The recommendation came a few hours after key stakeholders presented their case to the committee. "The notion is have the board vote on expansion," Bettman said. "And assuming, as I think everybody is, that it would be approved -- I don't want to be presumptuous of the board's prerogative -- but everything seems to be on track." It's the best possible news that could have come out of the meetings for proponents of the NHL in Seattle. Bettman agreed with Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan that the preference is for the team to begin play in the 2020-21 season, and that's a real possibility as long as renovations to KeyArena in downtown Seattle proceed as scheduled. "I'm very confident we're going to be able to move forward and get what we need from the NHL and the team and stick to the schedule so we have hockey in 2020," Durkan said. "They know we want it in 2020, and (the league would) like to have it in 2020, too, if we get the team." When the board next meets Dec. 3-4, Bettman expects a full report on Seattle expansion and said the goal is for the governors to vote at that time, with 24 of 32 needed for approval. It's conceivable the board could vote to give Seattle the green light for 2020 contingent on the arena's being finished with the option to push things back to 2021 if necessary. Approval seems assured at this point. Bettman said the endorsement by the nine-owner executive committee "speaks volumes," and it seems unlikely the board would turn down a $650 million expansion fee for the opportunity to expand to the U.S. Pacific Northwest, provide a natural geographic rival for the Vancouver Canucks, and balance the Eastern and Western conferences at 16 teams each. "It looks good," Vancouver owner Francesco Aquilini said. "It's exciting. We want a team in Seattle. It's great for Vancouver. It's great for the league. It's eventually going to happen. KeyArena is going to be built. So I think it's imminent." After meeting with the executive committee for well over an hour, Durkan, Seattle Hockey Partners President and CEO Tod Leiweke, and majority owner David Bonderman did not want to do a victory lap yet. "It's been a long time coming, and we can be patient," Leiweke said. Tod Leiweke's brother, Tim, Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer and fellow minority owner David Wright also were part of the contingent that made what Bettman called an "excellent" presentation. "With the mayor's help, what we tried to get across was Seattle is ready for a team, we got potentially a facility that will get built, a partnership with the city and away we go," Bonderman said. "All we need is a franchise." The NHL had been at 30 teams since 2000 when it decided in 2016 to expand to Las Vegas. The Golden Knights began play a year ago and made a stirring run to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. That process began with a season-ticket drive the league approved in the winter of 2014 to see if Las Vegas would be a viable hockey market. Seattle launched its season-ticket drive in March and sold 10,000 season-ticket deposits in 12 minutes. Team officials say they now have 32,000 as excitement builds for the return of a major professional winter sports team in the biggest U.S. market without one. The ticket numbers, a plan to renovate KeyArena and a video showcasing the benefits of Seattle expansion were all part of the presentation at the league office. What did not come up in that meeting was the status of the collective bargaining agreement, which the owners or players could choose in September 2019 to terminate effective Sept. 15, 2020. Bettman downplayed the buzz about a potential 2020 work stoppage and said arena construction was a bigger hindrance to a 2020 start for Seattle. "They have a lot of work to do initially," Bettman said. "They've got to stop using KeyArena, there's some demolition, they've got to dig a bigger hole, they've got to put the steel in. Once that's all accomplished ... we'll have a better sense. But everybody's goal is 2020 if it can be accomplished. If it's not, then we'll do it in '21."www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/24872760/seattle-group-makes-case-nhl-expansion-team
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Post by mikecubs on Oct 4, 2018 15:18:51 GMT -6
With Kevin Durant visiting first NBA hometown, Warriors star advocates for Seattle franchise Kevin Durant, who began his professional career in the Pacific Northwest, believes the NBA should bring a team back to Seattle. Crown the L.A. King: GMs predict LeBron as MVP NBA general managers expect LeBron James to win an MVP award with his third team, the Lakers, and for the Warriors to take home another NBA title. As the Golden State Warriors prepare for Friday night's preseason game against the Sacramento Kings in KeyArena in Seattle, Durant is hopeful that the proud basketball hotbed will be home to an NBA team again soon.
"For sure," Durant told ESPN. "Most definitely. It's a basketball city. It's a sports town. ... They have a good representation of basketball in the NBA from Seattle-born players, Washington state-born players. And I feel like that whole brand deserves an NBA team. Just like the Golden State Warriors deserve a team or the Los Angeles Lakers deserve a team, Seattle is that same way. has that same type of impact in the community. So [we have] a lot of time in life before this whole thing is over, and I'm sure we'll see a team before it's time."
The Seattle SuperSonics selected Durant with the second pick in the 2007 draft. He played one season in Seattle before new owner Clay Bennett moved the team to Oklahoma City and named it the Thunder.
Durant has always spoken fondly of his time in Seattle and still feels a connection with his first professional home.
"I look back on it and picture what it would have been like to [still] live there and play there, but I had no control [over the move]," he said. "I spent some great, great years in Oklahoma City, and that path was perfect for me. But I still got a connection with the Northwest area, always going up there with Nike in Portland, making trips to Seattle here and there, just knowing that I'm always going to be a Sonic. I think no matter what jersey I put on, I think those fans know that."
The Seattle visit, the first time an NBA game will have been held there in more than 10 years, has brought about a lot of excitement and nostalgia over the first week and a half of Warriors training camp.
"We should be in Seattle," Golden State coach Steve Kerr said after Wednesday's practice. "It's sort of a no-brainer. It's one of the top 10 [television] markets, I believe, in the United States. So a big TV market, Pacific Coast time slot, which would be great for TV purposes so we don't get stuck with these 8:30 starts around the league, which is a result of kind of the domino effect of losing Seattle and Vancouver. There are fewer teams on the West Coast, now we got to create these West Coast time slots for ESPN and TNT.
"But the more important thing is just it's a hotbed and people love the game and the Sonics were there for 41 years. We need a team in Seattle, but I'm not a proponent of expansion. I don't think the league's in a position now to expand because I don't think the talent calls for that. But I do think Seattle's the logical next choice for a team if there's a move or if there is expansion. Seattle's got to be number one on the list."
Veteran point guard Shaun Livingston added: "Seattle is a great city. I wish -- I hope that they get a team again. ... There's not too many guys left that know the SuperSonics, [that] Seattle was a great city, great place to play. But it should be a special homecoming for Kevin."
Durant is expected to receive a raucous ovation Friday night in front of a big crowd that will likely wonder what it would have been like to watch his career unfold up close.
"It means a lot," Durant said of playing in Seattle at last week's media day. "I spent a season there, and the fans were amazing to me my first year there. It was very devastating how we up and left in the middle of the night, and I know those fans have been yearning for basketball for a long, long time.
"Even though it's just a preseason game and it's one game, hopefully we can give them a nice little show for the night. But I'm looking forward to going back and playing in front of that crowd again, and I know my teammates are going to be excited as well. The energy is going to be amazing in the building."
www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/24882858/kevin-durant-pushes-nba-team-seattle-once-again
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Post by mikecubs on Oct 5, 2018 23:21:13 GMT -6
Kevin Durant, Steve Kerr reiterate support for franchise in SeattleThe memories came back quickly for Kevin Durant as he entered KeyArena on Friday night. The 30-year-old superstar remembered the walkway he used as a rookie for the Seattle Supersonics in 2007. He appreciated the loud cheers he got both in pregame warmups and after being announced in the starting lineup -- the two-time NBA Finals MVP had Seattle fans rocking as he walked to the floor in those introductions wearing a Shawn Kemp Sonics jersey.
" I think every NBA player at this point knows that Seattle needs a basketball team," Durant said before his Golden State Warriors defeated the Sacramento Kings 122-94. "It's obviously over the top of our heads, but [we'll] continue to show support for the city of Seattle. I think that's what everybody wants to do." Durant reiterated that message prior to tip-off while addressing the sellout crowd. He first shouted out the WNBA champion Seattle Storm, adding that he was hopeful an NBA team would return to the city soon. It was an emotional night for many in attendance as Seattle hosted an NBA game for the first time in over 10 years since the Sonics relocated and became the Oklahoma City Thunder. Warriors coach Steve Kerr walked to his pregame news conference wearing a green Sonics T-shirt, repeating the same message he discussed several times in advance of this game: The NBA should be back in Seattle.
"I've always loved the Sonics brand, I've loved the city," Kerr said. "The fan base was always an incredible place to play. It reminded me a lot of Oracle actually, coming to KeyArena when I played. Just kind of organic. The fans here love basketball; it's a hotbed with a lot of great players who come from Seattle. So I'm hoping the Sonics return some day. I guess this is my way of supporting that cause."Seattle fans came ready for a celebration Friday night as old Sonics jerseys popped up all over the arena. Seattle sports royalty including NBA Hall of Famers Bill Russell, Gary Payton and Lenny Wilkens sat courtside along with Storm stars Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was also courtside, standing and applauding, while Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was just a few seats away. Former Sonics forward Detlef Schrempf received a raucous ovation prior to the game when he was shown on the video screen unzipping his hoodie to reveal a T-shirt with an old Sonics logo. "I think it's special because it brings back memories of what basketball was here," Wilkens said before the game. "And certainly winning a championship here leaves a legacy, and it's a legacy I don't feel we have ever lost." Kerr and his players and coaches spent the morning at the Seahawks' facility meeting with Carroll and his players on their tour of Seattle. "We were very inspired by their approach to the game, their approach to practice," Durant said of his time with the Seahawks. "Just the overall IQ you have to have for the game of football, I think we all can relate to [how] important that is." Wilkens and many other players and coaches are hoping Friday night's game and the celebration of basketball that occurred will remind the NBA just how passionate the Seattle area is about having another team to call its own. "There's an awakening so to speak," Wilkens said. "But people have been fans for a long time; they just haven't had a place to channel it. So they get disappointed they don't have a team here that they can root for themselves. So certainly tonight should give an indication I would think." www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/24906278/kevin-durant-nba-greeted-cheers-return-seattle
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Post by mikecubs on Oct 5, 2018 23:33:35 GMT -6
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Post by mikecubs on Oct 10, 2018 0:28:03 GMT -6
NHL Seattle Ice Centre Plan UnveiledOn Monday, plans were unveiled for the NHL Seattle Ice Centre, a training facility that will be constructed if a Seattle NHL expansion bid is approved. Billionaire David Bonderman and producer Jerry Bruckheimer are leading an effort to bring an NHL expansion franchise to Seattle. Plans call for the team to play its home games at an overhauled KeyArena, but it would train at an elaborate facility that was unveiled on Monday. Dubbed the NHL Seattle Ice Centre, the facility is part of the phased redevelopment of Northgate in Seattle. It would be designed by Generator Studio, according to the Seattle Times. Located on the east side of the property, the first phase of NHL Seattle development will total more than 180,000 square feet. The privately funded facility will become an anchor tenant as part of Simon Property Group’s redevelopment efforts. “If we are awarded an NHL franchise, creating a one-of-a-kind training facility that can serve as the home of hockey in the Pacific Northwest for youth and adult hockey, all within the city of Seattle, is critical and we’ve sought out this amazing opportunity at Northgate to meet our goal,” said Tod Leiweke, CEO, NHL Seattle. “This facility is designed with three ice rinks that will allow us to serve our community and it will be one of the finest NHL training facilities ever built.” Major highlights of the new training facility center, include: Three NHL regulation ice rinks with spectator viewing locations and seating for 1,000 fans in the main rink and 400 in rinks two and three. NHL training facility that includes state-of-the-art locker rooms and strength and conditioning areas to recruit and retain top talent. Offices for NHL Seattle hockey operations and administrative staff. Restaurant, bar and retail space. A commitment to build the most environmentally sustainable practice facility in the NHL using structural wood products indigenous to the Pacific Northwest. Partner space for on-site activation, ice sports rental, retail shop, locker rooms and hospitality areas. “In building our new home for NHL hockey in Seattle, it is important that we build a facility that has the necessary infrastructure and access for our community to grow the great game of hockey,” said Leiweke. “Our goal is to provide access and opportunity to the game of hockey for children of all ages no matter their financial means. With no permanent ice rinks within the City of Seattle, we’re excited that will change with this project in the near future.” In addition to NHL, community, adult and youth hockey, it will also become the host site for training camps, national tournaments, figure skating and training, public ice time and learn-to-skate programs.“As a key component in Northgate’s future, this new practice facility and community hockey center is not just another development project,” said Lance Lopes, project leader, NHL Seattle. “It is the latest cornerstone of the public/private revitalization endeavor to transform Northgate into a thriving pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented urban center. In the last decade, the City of Seattle has made major civic investments in Northgate, building parks, a new library and community center, a community garden, improving Thornton Creek and the pedestrian environment, bringing light rail and transit to the nearby hub, and more. And Simon has demonstrated a commitment to this effort, both in terms of conveying land a decade ago to create the Thornton Creek project and open space, but also in its efforts with Sound Transit and already in-process land use master plan efforts to embrace a high-quality mixed-use future.” NHL Seattle is working closely with the NHL, Simon, owner of the Northgate facility, and the City of Seattle, with the goal of starting construction as soon as feasible. Construction is slated to be complete in time for NHL Seattle’s inaugural season, should the NHL Board of Governors vote to approve a team in Seattle. “We are excited to collaborate with NHL Seattle and make its training center and corporate headquarters a key piece of Northgate’s transformation from a traditional regional shopping mall into a world class transit-oriented mixed-use center,” said Michael E. McCarty, Chief Operating Officer, Simon Malls. “The transformation of Northgate is a prime example of our ability to create compelling ways for consumers to live, work, play, stay, shop and now skate at their favorite Simon destination.” “We are thrilled to be able to be a partner and make this happen at Northgate and be a central piece to this evolution,” said Lopes. “This facility is designed to serve the community and accessibility is important. We are excited to partner with Simon to redevelop an iconic piece of the Seattle landscape into a modern urban lifestyle center.” The design for the NHL Seattle Ice Centre is being submitted to the City of Seattle with Simon shortly, and will proceed through the city’s land use and design review process. arenadigest.com/2018/10/08/nhl-seattle-ice-centre-plan-unveiled/
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Post by mikecubs on Oct 10, 2018 0:30:48 GMT -6
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Post by mikecubs on Dec 4, 2018 15:25:34 GMT -6
Seattle gets NHL expansion team, to debut in 2021-22 seasonThe NHL will add a franchise in Seattle, the league announced Tuesday after a unanimous vote by the board of governors. The NHL's 32nd franchise will enter the league for the 2021-22 season as a member of the Pacific Division. That will trigger a realignment that will send the Arizona Coyotes to the Central Division. The cost for league entry will be $650 million, up 30 percent from the $500 million paid by the Vegas Golden Knights to enter the NHL last season. NHL ✔ @nhl Congratulations, @nhlseattle_! 👏🏼 The NHL's 32nd franchise will begin play in the 2021-22 season!!!Seattle's ownership group had expressed a desire to enter the league in 2020, but the league had reservations about whether that might rush the renovation to KeyArena, and instead, pushed the entry date a year later. Those renovations have now reached a price tag of $800 million, Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke said. The initial projections were $600 million.
" When you include the cost of reimagining and building Seattle Center Arena, this is a transaction with a value of approximately $1.4 billion," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. "Which shows incredible commitment by everyone involved -- commitment not just to the NHL but also to the city of Seattle."Seattle, the 18th-largest city in the United States,( City Stat is meaningless, Seattle is the 13th biggest CSA, 14th biggest metro) has not had a winter sports team since the NBA's SuperSonics left for Oklahoma City in 2008. The Sonics also played in KeyArena. The WNBA's Seattle Storm are one of the current tenants of the arena, but will temporarily relocate for the 2019 and 2020 seasons as the building undergoes renovations. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was excited to hear the news that the city was getting another professional sports team. Russell Wilson ✔ @dangerusswilson .@nhl welcome back to Seattle!!! Can't wait!! Let's get @nba back too! Seattle's ownership group sent a strong contingent to Georgia for the board of governors meetings, including majority owner David Bonderman, Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer and CEO Tod Leiweke, who most recently worked as the NFL's chief operating officer before he resigned in March. "Today is an exciting and historic day for our league as we expand to one of North America's most innovative, beautiful and fastest-growing cities," Bettman said. "And we are thrilled that Seattle, a city with a proud hockey history that includes being the home for the first American team ever to win the Stanley Cup, is finally joining the NHL."The NHL expanded Tuesday, announcing Seattle as its 32nd franchise. Here's how every North American league could broaden its geography. The Seattle Metropolitans played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and won the Stanley Cup in 1917. The franchise folded in 1924. Tuesday's vote ended what had become a months-long inevitability. In March, the Seattle ownership group launched a season-ticket drive and said it reached 25,000 deposits within the first hour. That exceeds the goal of 10,000 deposits -- which was reached in the first 12 minutes. For context, the Golden Knights ran a season-ticket drive in 2015 and received 5,000 deposits in the first two days. In October, the Seattle ownership group and Mayor Jenny Durkan made a two-hour presentation to the NHL executive committee in New York. The committee voted 9-0 to recommend and forward the bid to the league's full board of governors. The Seattle group already has paid a $10 million deposit to the league along with its official application. The new NHL expansion team in Seattle will begin play in the 2021-22 season, with home games taking place at KeyArena after a $800 million renovation. AP Photo/Elaine Thompson Leiweke said there is no timeframe for announcing a team name. "We're going to take our time," Leiweke said. " There's a group of owners involved. We're going to listen to our fans and we're going to do it right and we're not going to have a time pressure, but it's something we're working on each and every day." Added Bruckheimer: "It's exciting and daunting and scary. ... You just want to do right for Seattle and bring great players and hopefully pick a name where we won't get too many people mad at us." Bettman said several times that a Seattle franchise will benefit from the same expansion draft rules used by the Golden Knights. Even after Vegas made a surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final during its inaugural season, Bettman said in May that he had received "no pushback whatsoever" from other league owners about repeating the same process for Seattle. "I think clubs have learned a lot," Bettman said at a news conference before the Stanley Cup Final began in Las Vegas. "We needed to make the team more competitive. ... This was the first expansion in the salary-cap era as we afford all of our clubs an opportunity to be competitive; it wouldn't make any sense to not have the expansion team the same way." The Golden Knights had hoped to become the first expansion team in the NHL, MLB, NBA or NFL since the 1950 Cleveland Browns to win a championship in its inaugural season. The Washington Capitals won the series 4-1. The Seattle ownership group felt a sense of relief Tuesday. Various ownership groups had tried to both renovate KeyArena and make a bid for a franchise, to no avail. "I never felt it was preordained," Leiweke said. "And, by the way, if it was, it would have happened a long time ago. This has been a real journey that's had challenges and it's not been for the faint of heart. My brother [Tim] deserves enormous credit for saying a building that others gave up on for dead [could be saved]. And now we can look at that building -- and it does have a soul -- and say its best days are in front of it. "It's not just about hockey. It's about all the other events that'll come. Today is a day of hope, promise ... and we got a lot of hard work in front of us." The addition of Seattle likely ends the NHL's expansion for the short-term future. However, some cities, including Houston, remain as possible relocation sites. www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/25451216/nhl-votes-give-expansion-franchise-seattle
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Post by mikecubs on Dec 4, 2018 15:34:40 GMT -6
-The NHL did a very rare wise thing delaying giving them the team from 2020 to 2021. There was a LOT of talk the renovation wouldn't be complete until November 2020. So you'd be missing 1 month of home games. If you have a delay you are really screwed. Also there is the risk of a lockout in 2020. Not a good way to start off. Plus the delay gives Seattle another year of population growth. It's been growing 60,000 per year.
-Arizona officially goes to the central. Hopefully they go to Houston
-Amazing that the costs of the arena are now up to $800M
-They will take their time with the team name
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Post by ekjet72 on Dec 4, 2018 15:52:40 GMT -6
The arena and it's inflating costs story will scare the heck out of Calgarians. What is thought to be $800M-$1B arena will now be far greater in cost. How much, no one knows. And the Owners and Bettman want the City and its citizens to own the costs. Public surveys are dead set against using public funds especially with current high unemployment and lack of government support.
As for the name, since alliteration is the rage-Seattle Sasquatch. That sounds stodgy but it kinda works.
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Post by rainmanrh on Dec 4, 2018 15:52:45 GMT -6
Wow that is a crazy expansion fee. What is the ROI on that for the owner? QC will still get a team, it will be a relocation from the south, the question is when.
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