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NHL votes to expand to Seattle

Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 4:20 pm
by Boris13c
NHL to Seattle: What to know about the expansion approval for the league's 32nd franchise
The NHL voted unanimously in favor of expansion at the league's Board of Governors meeting in Georgia on Tuesday, officially green-lighting a 32nd franchise in Seattle.

The nine-member executive committee heard Seattle's presentation in October before voting unanimously to move the matter to the full board, then unanimously approving the expansion on Tuesday. Three-quarters of the league's current 31 owners needed to vote positively for the vote to officially pass.

The expansion to Seattle comes two years after the league's Board of Governors unanimously approved adding a 31st franchise in Las Vegas. The Vegas Golden Knights played their inaugural season in 2017-2018 and were a smash success both on and off the ice. Not only did the team draw well and generate a ton of buzz in the Vegas market, the Golden Knights also made the Stanley Cup Final in their first season.

An ownership group called the Seattle Hockey Partners is behind the city's bid for a team. That group is led by by billionaire businessman David Bonderman, who would serve as majority owner, as well as movie/television producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Tod Leiweke, who has served in major sports executive roles for nearly two decades. Leiweke will serve as the team's president and CEO. The Seattle Hockey Partners group will pay NHL owners $650 million to join the league.

Seattle's franchise will join the league starting with the 2021-22 season. The ownership group was hoping to begin play in 2020, but setbacks in arena construction will push their plans back a year.

The team will play at KeyArena, which famously served as the home of the Seattle Supersonics from 1967 to 2008, or at least a sexier version of it. Seattle approved a $700 million renovation of the arena, which will be almost entirely gutted (with the roof remaining untouched) to build a modern arena. The new building will have a capacity of 17,400 for hockey and 18,600 for basketball.

Re: NHL votes to expand to Seattle

Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2018 10:43 am
by Otis Day
Don't like it at all. The game is pretty watered down right now IMO. I just don't think this will help. I think they need to fix the salary cap issues and try to build the game with what they got currently.

Re: NHL votes to expand to Seattle

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:52 am
by UOK
Weird about the stupid Coyotes coming to the central, but they'll be relocated within a few years anyway.