NHL to announce opening of formal expansion process

[Ruminator]

Sockeyes sounds lame.

Have to agree. Prefer Steelheads or even Chinooks if it's going to be a salmon species.

 

[chris98251]

Seattle Politicians, nobody can score in this town with them here, good name for a Hockey team if you ask me

 

[Sports Hernia]

Seattle Politicians, nobody can score in this town with them here, good name for a Hockey team if you ask me

Ain't that the truth.

 

[kobebryant]

Unlike soccer, hockey isn't a yuppie or techy sport.

Neither is football.

I agree. Though my premis is admittedly unscientific, I've always found that football and hockey fans tend to be the same people.

Football and hockey fans want to watch men who act like men, play tough, play hurt, bloody, get blown up and get back hurt, high physicality, big time action. And they tend not to be fans of the slow pace and unwritten rules of baseball, or the whining and diving in basketball and soccer.

If Everrett, Seattle, Tri-Cities, Portland and Spokane can have long-standing WHL franchises, the region can rally behind an NHL team. If its an expansion team you'll get 5 years or so of top 5 picks; if its Arizona or Florida moving here you get some really nice young players coming with them.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Football and hockey fans want to watch men who act like men, play tough, play hurt, bloody, get blown up and get back hurt, high physicality, big time action. And they tend not to be fans of the slow pace and unwritten rules of baseball, or the whining and diving in basketball and soccer.

Football and hockey are violent sports, so in general football and hockey fans are more working class, blue collar type fans. Although considering football and hockey are the most expensive tickets to purchase, that's not really who you see in the stands anymore.

Soccer fans in the US are vastly different than soccer fans in other parts of the world, far more affluent and hipstery. Go to Europe, Mexico or South America and soccer fans are far more like our football and hockey fans. Loud, belligerent and working class.

 

[twisted_steel2]

Tukwila is full steam ahead.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/jonhumbert/status/615571197636575232[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/rmarcham/status/615572589457633280[/tweet]

I have a good feeling about this... Tukwila wants this arena built, Bartoszek wants a team. His group and Tukwila are gonna get this done. :th2thumbs:

 

[Sports Hernia]

As long as we get an NHL team I don't care where the arena is.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

It's amazing to see that the city council of Tukwila can complete their EIN in literally months, while it took the city and county in Seattle years.

Maybe the complications from the two different sites has something to do with it. But IMO it's more about the gross dysfunction, palm greasing needed and bureaucracy in Seattle that made the EIN take so long.

 

[chris98251]

Seattle City Council has been the biggest road block, the Mayors well we know how much impact they have had at doing things, bike paths and trolly cars yes, Arenas not so much.

 

[SmokinHawk]

Tukwila is the best damn place to put it, too. The entire town is one big parking lot, and you have every form of mass transit offered in the Greater Seattle area available, including the Sounder, Metro, Rapid Ride, Community Transit, SoundTransit, and the Link Light Rail all right in the area. Not to mention it sits on top of all three major highways in the area, I-5, I-405, and Highway 99.

Tukwila is an ideal location, honestly. The train and light rail make it so easy.

 

[twisted_steel2]

Central location too, if you think of Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma(and all south end) as a triangle. Center of it all.
13 miles from downtown Seattle, about 13 miles from Bellevue, and 22 miles to Tacoma.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Central location too, if you think of Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma(and all south end) as a triangle. Center of it all.
13 miles from downtown Seattle, about 13 miles from Bellevue, and 22 miles to Tacoma.

Yep, the only downside to Tukwila is does it mean it'll be harder for Hansen to get his arena built if there's no hockey tenant..........or at least the attractiveness of a future hockey tenant?

 

[twisted_steel2]

Sounds like Mayor Murray reached out to Coleman and the Nordstroms, huh.

http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/s ... /29493307/

Also:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/GeoffBakerTIMES/status/615921160732016640[/tweet]

 

[Maulbert]

http://www.si.com/nhl/2015/07/07/nh...s-begins-seattle-las-vegas-quebec-kansas-city

....And, they're off!

I personally believe Vegas will get one, and the other will be between Seattle and Quebec City. Seattle's advantage is that the NHL would prefer to expand in the west because of the unbalanced conferences, while Quebec City's advantage is that they already have an NHL ready arena nearing completion.

This will be an interesting couple of months.

 

[twisted_steel2]

I don't think the arena situation between the two cities is that big a deal.

An arena that is already built, versus an arena that will be built by the time the expansion team plays its first game. Last I heard the Tukwila arena is scheduled to be completed by 2017, expansion team wouldnt start until the 2017 season..... unno:

As long as the NHL is satisfied and confident the arena here in Tukwila will be completed on time, we should be on equal standing in that regard.



PS At this point I dont think the Sodo arena, with Hansen and or Coleman is even in the running. The red tape of contracts between the two, and trying to get the MOU changed with Seattle, that's gonna take years. This all has to be done in weeks.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

As long as the NHL is satisfied and confident the arena here in Tukwila will be completed on time, we should be on equal standing in that regard.

Don't forget though that this is only one of many factors the NHL will be vetting. They also have to look over the arena plans, location logistics and most importantly don't forget that Tukwila is in King County...........so if Dow Constantine and the other King County council members show strong resistance to the Tukwila site because they're already heavily invested in the SoDo arena project, that could prove troublesome for the NHL if they choose Tukwila.

I don't care, I just want hockey. But I also don't want hockey in Tukwila if that means the death of getting our Sonics back, which is a very real possiblity if the NHL goes to Tukwila.

 

[twisted_steel2]

The King County council thing is interesting, hadn't thought of that potential road block.

Let's say they do prefer Sodo... wonder how much influence they really have as its a privately funded arena? If public money is involved, sure they're all involved and talking it to death for years.

But a private investor spending his own $$ on his own land? In combination with the city fast tracking it?

 

[Sgt. Largent]

The King County council thing is interesting, hadn't thought of that potential road block.

Let's say they do prefer Sodo... wonder how much influence they really have as its a privately funded arena? If public money is involved, sure they're all involved and talking it to death for years.

But a private investor spending his own $$ on his own land? In combination with the city fast tracking it?

I'd like to think the councils would cooperate with whichever site is chosen by the NHL, especially if the Tukwila site is 100% privately funded. But I'm not naive, all I've ever known politicians to do is what's best for them, not what's best for us.

So it wouldn't surprise me in the least if a number of King County council members start throwing up roadblocks on the Tukwila site.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

The King County council thing is interesting, hadn't thought of that potential road block.

Let's say they do prefer Sodo... wonder how much influence they really have as its a privately funded arena? If public money is involved, sure they're all involved and talking it to death for years.

But a private investor spending his own $$ on his own land? In combination with the city fast tracking it?

Maybe a dumb question but is there any city that has separate but modern hockey and basketball arenas? (I don't really follow either sport but would probably watch a Seattle NHL team). Tukwila looks to be way ahead in the planning with less red tape (along with the resistance from the port and the Mariners in the downtown arena). Would a Tukwila stadium be designed to host NBA as well?

If so and the arena gets built, I think the downtown arena is dead as a dodo. Why pay for an NBA stadium when Tukwila could both?

I preferred any hockey/basketball arena to be beside the other stadiums as it would be one bus ride till I realized that Tukwila is right beside the light rail.

Would hate any Bellevue arena.

Also...why does Portland not have an NHL team? Isn't the Moda Center state of the art? Would be an instant rivalry with Vancouver and i'm sure it would be supported.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

Also, if either site gets built, what happens to Key Arena?

I imagine any concerts that Key Arena host would be there and that the Storm etc would play there in the off season as it's more modern. Even if the Storm didn't, could Key Arena survive with only the Storm and Seattle U (if they stayed) as tenants without concert revenue?