I have no concern that the building proper won’t meet our requirements. - NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
Seattle’s rapid and inspiring growth over the last decade has placed our city atop many important lists. For example:
· Top 10 Most Livable Big Cities (Business Insider, August 2017)
· The fastest growing big city in the United States (US Census, 2017)
· The city with more construction cranes than any other city (Puget Sound Business Journal, 2017)
Even as we enjoy this unprecedented regional growth and the opportunities it has brought, we still find ourselves with another very dubious distinction: Seattle is the largest city in the United States without a winter professional sports franchise. It is long past time for this to change.
The City of Seattle is very close to formalizing an agreement with the Oak View Group (OVG) that would transform historic Key Arena into a world-class modern sports venue, paving the way for the return of the NBA and the introduction of an NHL team. The City Council will vote on a proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) on December 4.
After years of waiting, Seattle sports fans, and countless businesses that will benefit from our new teams, should be ready to celebrate.
Why now?
Seattle is an ideal location for an NHL franchise. It’s bigger than 15 of the current 31 cities with NHL teams. A Seattle franchise would also add geographical balance. The league’s recent expansion to Las Vegas leaves the NHL with 15 teams in the Western Conference, compared to 16 in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, Seattle’s growing economy, and its strong basketball tradition, will ultimately call for a return of the NBA.
However, the commissioners of both the NHL and NBA have made it clear in their public statements that Seattle must build a world-class arena to house any prospective new franchises.
“I have no concern that the building proper won’t meet our requirements,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver told the Seattle Times in a recent interview”, adding that serious discussions can’t begin until an arena gets built. The article goes on to say that Silver wouldn’t bet against Leiweke getting something done. “He’s always delivered in all of my business dealings with him.”
Knowing that time is of the essence, OVG’s construction schedule will result in the new building opening in October of 2020. And OVG’s rebuild would produce a facility capable of attracting the NBA when a franchise becomes available.
Why Seattle Center?
Seattle Center is a cherished historic showcase for our city. A new arena on the campus would fit the broader revitalization that city leaders have envisioned for many years. Along with Seattle Storm basketball, an NHL and NBA team will complement the vibrant music, theater, and performing arts events at Seattle Center, expanding the versatile spectrum of activity that reflects Seattle’s diverse community and lively culture. The OVG project has the support of surrounding communities and local government. After years of conflict with potential arena neighbors it is exciting to see neighborhoods including Uptown, SLU, Queen Anne, and Belltown engaged in a thoughtful process aimed at building the community’s support and expectations into the revitalization of Seattle Center campus.
Why OVG?
OVG is a world leader in the arena, sports and entertainment industries. Few people in the world possess the deep relationships across the NHL, the NBA, and the music industry that Tim Leiweke and his team bring to the table. OVG’s point person in Seattle is Lance Lopes who has been in leadership roles with the Seahawks, Sounders and Huskies since 2001. Lopes is a great leader for this effort who knows the Seattle sports landscape as well as anyone.
OVG has demonstrated the ability to deliver a world-class arena that will be successful for decades to come. Perhaps most importantly, OVG has proactively reached out to community members to build collaborative relationships. The OVG team in Seattle has hosted and attended several public events to hear input and concerns of neighborhoods, Seattle Center tenants, labor unions, local businesses, fans, and other stakeholders.
Over the last decade, we have seen that building a world-class arena capable of bringing back the NBA and attracting the NHL is an incredibly difficult and complex task. OVG has the expertise and business savvy required to work with the City’s multiple constituencies and address the specific needs of major sports leagues.
The OVG team is ready to take the first step toward restoring Seattle’s place among the ranks of great American sports towns. Fans of pro basketball and hockey should recognize this great opportunity and look forward to many nights of professional basketball and hockey in the years ahead.
Comments
It's not that I don't feel bad for Chris & Wally
I am very convinced that our chances of bringing the NBA back increase substantially on Monday. If you take all the personalities and history out of the equation that is something we should really be celebrating.
By Brian Robinson on 12.01.17 12:46pm
......
The rush is to get the NHL…….. In 2008 the rush was to get the NBA back. In 2012 the goal was to get NBA back and supplement with NHL and concerts to make the modal work. To the Sonics fan who only care about the NBA back not sure Monday is any different then the previous 500+ Mondays since the Sonics left. I give OVG and the city of Seattle credit for changing the narrative of this from getting the Sonics back as the main purpose to instead building a world class concert venue that most likely will house an NHL team & hopefully an NBA team. Good for hockey fans, good for concert dwellers and indifference for Sonics fans. The only thing this building is going to do for the next 5-10 years is make my Queen Anne neighborhood packed full of more traffic and make getting to I5 even more difficult for more days and longer periods of time vs the typical 6-10am window & 3-7pm window with weekends being a flip of the coin. Oh yea and NO NBA. WIN WIN
By dawgfan4life on 12.01.17 1:52pm
Great passion, but seems misguided.
OVG would be daft to think no NBA is a win. They look to make alot more cash with both instead of one. The aim has always been both major tenants, but hard to push for both when only one is imminent. There’s already been rumblings that there is ownership lined up for NBA, but no desire to shed light on it since no team is available.
The traffic seems to be overblown to me. The team thrived there, and attendance was near capacity for the majority of its existence. There may be more businesses down there than in ‘08, but that’s all traffic that’s leaving the area at tip off, not approaching it. To be a big city, at the location Seattle sits at, there’s going to be traffic. We’re not a podunk town anymore.
I’m upset that Hansen got screwed, and that the palace that would’ve been isn’t going to be built. There are names to call out, and corruption to be uncovered. But I’m not willing to let that anger get in the way of something positive that can happen. I chose to stay mad at the powers that be for ripping Sodo away from us, but also to be willing to swallow my pride if it means having to drive farther north to get to my basketball team when it arrives. I’m done with sour grapes, cuz sour grapes make shitty wine.
By OlyBrandon21 on 12.01.17 2:07pm
I just can't believe that basketball fans are the number one worry I have
When it comes to our chances of getting basketball back in Seattle.
By OlyBrandon21 on 12.01.17 2:09pm
Crazy isn't it?
When I first started looking at this months ago my big concern was that well meaning basketball fans would be the one who run them out of town and leave us with nothing.
After everything we’ve been through I’m not sure how I could have lived with that.
By Brian Robinson on 12.01.17 3:08pm
Frankly I think it is ridiculous
to think they are building a concert venue. Yes, RIDICULOUS. Certainly there will be concerts there. But a concert venue this is NOT. You would NEVER build a building like this to primarily host concerts. It is always going to be limiting in sound quality and seating for concerts because of the sports orientated layout. I’m tired of the bellyaching I didn’t get my way – my place – my hero etc. OVG has straight up brought their A game and all the haters have left to hang on to at this point is whine whine whine traffic whine whine whine Kansas City whine whine whine concert venue whine whine whine NHL.
This is the route to the return of the Sonics to Seattle.
After the vote on Monday, get on board. There’s room for everyone. Get excited. I don’t know when, but I fully believe that if the vote on Monday is to move forward with OVG at Seattle Center that we WILL be seeing the glory of Green and Gold again at that location!
By Chris Meirose on 12.03.17 7:12am
The traffic and parking problems are not overblown
Thanks to more people moving into the city and buildings built over what used to be parking lots in LQA since the Sonics departure, it is a very difficult ball game for people commuting into the Key Arena arena from far outside the city. We’ve heard from people going to NCAA basketball games of the difficult slog in traffic and the parking issues.
For WIW, I was talking to a friend who lives on the east side who was concerned about the parking issues for the new Key Arena project—-I suggested that he may have to park downtown and monorail to the Key. He is also under the belief that the Key project involves tax payer subsidies while the Hansen project is privately financed, and was surprised and disappointed the city went in OVG’s direction. I told him the developer was paying for it, but he wasn’t convinced.
We may hear more details later on that involve taxpayer involvement—-Transportation tax? and possible improvements to the infrastructure around LQA that involve city spending.
By NWEastcoaster on 12.02.17 10:11am
Myth: "No Parking"
There are over 14,000 parking stalls within a 15-minute walkshed of the arena, approximately half within Uptown and Seattle Center. OVG estimates 6,100 vehicles per event. The forecasted 2020 mode split is roughly 80% by car, with the split dropping below 70% with the delivery of ST3.
By Sixth Man on 12.02.17 6:09pm
While this is true...
People don’t exactly like walking in the pouring rain during the core of the NHL/NBA season and very few of those parking spaces offer the convenience that attached garages in SoDo can. That said, OVG has an opportunity here to leverage technology by finding pre-arranged garages and potentially having shuttles close the gap – so said people don’t have to walk even 5 minutes in the rain. I’ll fully admit that i’m one of those people. Love Seattle but f’ing hate the rain. I’ll gladly park in SLU, play shuttle-board at the Brave Horse Tavern but i’d like to see a shuttle system allow me to stay dry in getting to the arena.
By ksmith1984 on 12.03.17 7:12am
I don't doubt the numbers, but I do doubt availability
due to many residents of Belltown, LQA, and SLU using those stalls, not to mention people who go to restaurants and clubs in the surrounding neighborhoods. Otherwise we wouldn’t be hearing about the pain and suffering Key Arena attendees go through in finding parking around the arena.
I recall Lopes saying the same thing about the stalls to justify the status quo, which may not suffice over the long haul if the arena is going to accommodate people from outside of the city. Shuttles and park and rides potentially would be a good addition.
By NWEastcoaster on 12.03.17 10:22am
Understand the frustration
But where is the NBA team/Sonics supposed to come from in the meantime? And before an NBA team comes is the city and/or arena developers supposed to do nothing but sit on their hands?
By maruk14 on 12.01.17 2:32pm
It seems like this is the exact guidance from the "I don't give a shit about hockey" crowd. Sit on your hands for another 5-10 years while
NBA takes their time figuring it all out.
Guess what? NHL is ready now; NBA is not ready. Let that be a reality that motivates a venue that is suitable for the Sonics, so when NBA gets their act together enough to expand, we will be ready.
Guess what X2? NBA won’t come here unless we have an arena. Seattle council won’t let an arena be built without a team. Do you think that’s a good position?
By Throbert Bedford on 12.01.17 2:58pm
I tend to side with the "Don't give a shit about Hockey" & not a fan of Seattle Center, but....
I also realize the big picture. An arena needs to be built for the NBA to eventually come back. No Arena= No NBA.
By JackinSeattle on 12.01.17 6:56pm
Exactly
After years of complaining about the slow "Seattle process" that unfairly hampered Hansen, far too many wanted to see the same thing happen to OVG!
Enough waiting. We have a privately-funded plan and a group willing to build NOW. Let’s let them give us a building! This is a great deal for taxpayers and sports fans.
By Kyle_G on 12.01.17 9:29pm
NBA has provided us a roadmap on how to get a team back
And it all starts with having an arena to play in. There is no magic fix here. It is a series of dominoes. Getting the arena done sets those dominoes in motion.
By Matt Tucker on 12.01.17 3:07pm
Thank You
Thank for Brian and John for co-authoring this article. I’ve enjoyed working with each of you throughout this process and look forward to a productive 2018. After Monday, we can stand before both leagues and declare we are ready for them so bring it on. Winter Sports Are Coming!
By Sixth Man on 12.01.17 2:43pm
We need to reunite all Seattle fans.
That believe that Monday’s vote will bring us both the Seattle NBA Sonics and NHL Metropolitans.
By jega on 12.01.17 4:47pm
Metropolitans
We can do so much better on a name
By Kyle_G on 12.01.17 9:21pm
I'm still ready for the
Seattle AnythingButKrakenOrMetropolitans to take to the ice.
By OlyBrandon21 on 12.01.17 11:25pm
Totems
You know you want it
By Kyle_G on 12.01.17 11:59pm
That fits the criteria
Totems is my favorite, followed by snatching the Tbirds.
By OlyBrandon21 on 12.02.17 12:26pm
Kraken
Don’t hate.
By Chris Meirose on 12.03.17 7:18am
Hate
By Taylor Bartle on 12.05.17 1:01pm
I'd flip that around, but agreed.
By Throbert Bedford on 12.04.17 10:08am
but the Christmas sweaters
think of the Christmas sweaters!
By FlannelBacon on 12.02.17 12:03pm