Q13’s Bill Wixey sat down with the man who will be overseeing construction of the $600 million Seattle Center Arena renovation, Oak View Group Director of Operations Steve Mattson.

Wixey brought up the trepidation many fans feel towards the KeyArena location and it’s ability to bring back the Seattle SuperSonics. Mattson feels that having an arena is certainly better than not, and that having one winter sports team can lead the way to a second.

“However the team left, I think to get NBA or NHL back, it was going to require a new building and I think that’s what’s going on now. I think you’ve got a case of where the building will be ready for both NHL and NBA, and I think it’s a clean slate. The number twelve market in the country should not be without a winter sport. If it’s NHL that paves the way to get NBA back, I don’t think that’s a bad scenario. Right now I think we’re focused on first the NHL, but creating a building that is fully capable for not just an NHL but an NBA team, from the back of house to the front of house.”

We will update this article as more from the interview becomes available.

On a related note, OVG CEO Tim Leiweke was named the fifth most powerful NHL power broker by SportsNet’s John Shannon. Shannon brings up Seattle as well as the new New York Islanders arena being planned in Long Island, not to mention Leiweke’s stories history with the league.

Already well-known to Canadian sports fans, Leiweke is now the CEO of Oak View Group, an all-encompassing arena sports and entertainment company. He and his partners have fostered a renovated arena in Seattle and been identified as the preferred partner on the new Long Island arena. Leiweke’s ingenuity, aggressive public relations style and pure sports business knowledge have put him in a position to create new opportunities, like the one in Seattle, and help existing venues grow and prosper all over North America. His work with the L.A. Kings helped put two Stanley Cup banners in Staples Center, and his aggressive style in Toronto put the Maple Leafs back among playoff-bound teams.

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