Breaking: New deal for NHL expansion receiving the support of NHL owners

Ownership is in place. Arena deal is in place. All they need now is a team.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Breaking: New deal for NHL expansion receiving the support of NHL owners
Keystone Press

Seattle has long been rumored to be a favored destination for the NHL, either through expansion or as a relocation market. Various forces, up until this point, have kept the Emerald City from acquiring a team however. Plans to build a new, taxpayer funded arena in downtown Seattle have fallen apart several times, but now it seems as though the city finally has the support of its local government.

Seattle mayor Ed Murray announced yesterday that he has selected an ownership group to renovate existing KeyArena for a potential NHL and NBA franchise. The ownership group, is backed by some serious heavy-hitters in the sports and entertainment industries, so you know that no expense will be spared in the $564 million renovation. Jerry Bruckheimer, Hollywood movie produced famous for features like “Pirates of the Caribbean” and Boston Celtics owner David Bonderman are among the group.

Interestingly, When mayor Murray made the announcement,  two NHL leaders were in attendance, Vancouver Canucks Chairman Francesco Aquilini and Florida Panthers Chairman Peter Luukko. Aquilini, in particular, was bold in his support for the project saying, “There are 15 teams in the west with 16 teams in the east. When there’s a new arena here, I think the owners and the commissioner would be very open to looking at a team here. I would definitely support it.”

Interesting. Support for a franchise in Seattle has always been there, the only thing preventing it from becoming a reality is the logistics of building and funding a new arena. That giant hurdle, however, seems to be gone now.

Source: King 5