New Seattle Stadium- Relocation of NBA and NHL teams (proposal stage)

[CMvan46]

News today from Seattle:

A hedgefund guy out of Seattle went public today with plans for a multipurpose facility just south of Safeco (downtown Seattle) at a cost of $500 million on land he already owns.

The plans will move forward only if:

-An NBA team move in which is rumored to be the Sacramento Kings which this guy says he will also pay for himself.

-An NHL team move in which is rumored to be the Phoenix Coyotes (they could use a name change if they move)

-A partner for the NHL team is found. This shouldn't be a problem with close proximity to Canada where I'm sure in Vancouver alone there would be more than enough people willing to jump at that chance.

There is obviously a ton of work to be done yet before this gets the green light.

They would need approval of the plans from the City of Seattle which I'd assume wouldn't be an issue as concerts are even passing over the city now as the don't have a venue to host large concerts right now.

They'd need to actually get the Sacramento Kings and have the NBA approve the relocation.

They'd also need the stubborn NHL to approve the new owners and sign off on the relocation although this may be less of a problem because apparently the NHL has been looking at coming to Seattle for a long time if they had the venue to support it. The other front runner for the Coyotes is Quebec City but they don't have a stadium either and funding is pretty weak for it at the moment.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/02/16/bc-seattle-stadium.html

The story is a bit different than how the Seattle reporter talked about it on the radio this afternoon but the basics are pretty much the same. This story says an NHL team is under consideration but the reporter today said it would be needed to make this deal happen because the cost of the stadium is too much for just one team.

 

[Omnis]

As long as the teams aren't Neon Rave Green.

 

[cullenand]

They need another NBA team in Seattle. I used to love watching the Sonics play. If this does happen I hope they keep the Sonics logo, name, etc. and not make an entirely new team.

 

[Schwartz]

Now I'm inspired to make a couple logos for the teams and there is absolutely nothing I can do to stop myself from doing it. To the lab!

 

[Rykon Zero]

This will be interesting though I never watched any sports back in the 'states. Also, I'm finding delightful irony in Arizona having a hockey team.

 

[Omnis]

They need another NBA team in Seattle. I used to love watching the Sonics play. If this does happen I hope they keep the Sonics logo, name, etc. and not make an entirely new team.

I'm not sure if they can. The Browns did it in the NFL, but OKC still owns all the Sonics stuff I think. I don't know how it would work for the NBA.

 

[CMvan46]

I'm not sure if they can. The Browns did it in the NFL, but OKC still owns all the Sonics stuff I think. I don't know how it would work for the NBA.

Yeah I think your right. Unless the new owners bought the rights to the Sonic name of course.

The new Winnipeg Jets NHL team had to buy the rights to the Jets name and they aren't even using the same logo. I'd assume the same laws apply to any company or other pro franchise.


I'm sure most people know what the Supersonics' jerseys looked like but here are the Metropolitans' jerseys from when Seattle won the Stanley Cup in the early 1900's:

 

[cullenand]

I'm not sure if they can. The Browns did it in the NFL, but OKC still owns all the Sonics stuff I think. I don't know how it would work for the NBA.

I think I read on probasketballtalk.com a few weeks ago that part of the settlement of the Sonics moving to OKC was that the city of Seattle got to keep all the rights to the teams name, colors, history, etc. Not sure if that is true or not, but it just wouldn't look right to have a team other than the SuperSonics playing in Seattle.

 

[JohnBM01]

Did any of you see "Pardon the Interruption" earlier today? This question was asked in one segment. Both Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon both think that it is very likely there may be an NBA team to Seattle. That's even if a current franchise moves to Seattle. On the NHL, however, the chances seemed unlikely to Tony Kornheiser. Part of the reason being that you (not my words) have a Vancouver franchise in the NHL, so there's no need for a Seattle team. Hell, that didn't stop there from being the NBA's Seattle Supersonics and Vancouver Grizzlies back then, did it?

Heck, in my view, Seattle definitely is a basketball place. It can also be a more than lovely hockey town too. Imagine having a decent Pacific Northwest rivalry between the Seattle (whatever nickname such a Seattle team would choose) and the Vancouver Canucks. I think Seattle would be great for all four major sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) including various other sporting leagues. I'd surely like to see this happen for the beautiful city of Seattle.

 

[Omnis]

Yeah it did, John. The Grizz moved to Memphis.

 

[JohnBM01]

I know the franchise moved to Memphis long ago. I'm just saying, though. I would still love to see the NBA return to Seattle. For now, the only pro Seattle basketball is the Seattle Storm of the WNBA.

 

[CMvan46]

Did any of you see "Pardon the Interruption" earlier today? This question was asked in one segment. Both Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon both think that it is very likely there may be an NBA team to Seattle. That's even if a current franchise moves to Seattle. On the NHL, however, the chances seemed unlikely to Tony Kornheiser. Part of the reason being that you (not my words) have a Vancouver franchise in the NHL, so there's no need for a Seattle team. Hell, that didn't stop there from being the NBA's Seattle Supersonics and Vancouver Grizzlies back then, did it?
.

Neither of those guys are EVER allowed to comment on hockey or the NHL again. I can't watch the show because of their incompetence towards the sport and the fact they leave out almost every major hockey story there is.

The Vancouver Canucks have a provincial and loyal base that a Seattle team will not change. The Canucks are the provinces team and are supported extremely well (5 straight years of sell outs now I believe). The owner of the Canucks is actually pushing for a team to move there because they would likely be in the Canucks' division and Minnesota moved out which would mean 6 games a year only 2 hours of driving apart.

The Canucks have the 2nd highest ticket prices in the league and I'd imagine a Seattle team would do very very well if the capitalize on the fact most of us up here can't afford to go. I'd gladly go down to a Seattle game to see them play if it meant a ticket to $50 each instead of $150 from a scalper in the upper bowl.

Seattle also has one of the largest metropolitan populations in all of the US and have some major companies based out of the city which would mean sponsorship dollars shouldn't be an issue.

The rivalry would be fantastic too and I can't imagine how much of that arena would be filled with Canucks jerseys during those games.

Omnis the Grizzles moves because of many other reasons than the Sonics and it actually had very little to do with it. Not a lot of Canadians made trips to Seattle to see a Sonics game when they were here. The NBA didn't let them have a high round pick for the first 5 years as a part of their expansion contract, the ownership was weak and was only in it for profit, the team was poorly run and facilities were half arsed which meant nobody wanted to sign here. Vancouver still hates the NBA for what they did here and the Grizzles never really had a chance. Oh and they passed on the local guy because he wasn't big enough.... Steve Nash. Oops.

 

[Joel]

The guys from PTI are hockey morons. When they talk about hockey they make complete fools of themselves. As my fellow countryman has said, Vancouver is one of the most profitable, biggest, and rabid fanbases in the NHL. I'd say probably 3rd largest behind Toronto and Montreal. There'd be no trouble from a Seattle team. By the same logic, the Maple Leafs should be out of business because of the Buffalo Sabres. It'll end up being the same sort of situation. Most Leafs/Canadiens fans in southern Ontario will go to Buffalo to watch their team play because tickets in Toronto are ridiculous. It'll be the same situation, Vancouver tickets will be expensive and sell out, Seattle will be at a lower price point.

 

[Villain]

If you were counting on the Maloofs moving the Kings in order to help make this happen, think again. Sacramento has the ball rolling to get a new arena.

BTW - PTI are boneheads on baseball and football too. I only value Wilbon's basketball analysis.

 

[CMvan46]

If you were counting on the Maloofs moving the Kings in order to help make this happen, think again. Sacramento has the ball rolling to get a new arena.

BTW - PTI are boneheads on baseball and football too. I only value Wilbon's basketball analysis.

Oh really? I follow absolutely nothing basketball related unfortunately, are there any other teams in need of relocation because when I heard about all this it was only rumored to be the Kings moving but I don't believe it was the only team these Seattle guys would consider.

 

[Pyle_PMG]

Well if the Islanders can't get an arena deal done, relocation will have to be considered. The tax payers voted down a new arena deal, and Wang has hinted at relocation in 2015 if a deal can't be done.

I could see Wang moving the team to Seattle.

 

[CMvan46]

More progress today. Some memo put throw city and county councils today for approval which apparently it will be. Then they need an NBA team and then an NHL team the guy putting up the money said.