Blogs Jan 4, 2012 at 11:50 am

Is Seattle Finally Getting a Hockey Team?

Megan Seling
Back to article

Comments

1
And I will be third in line. NHL hockey? Yes please!
Chris B on January 4, 2012 at 12:03 PM Report this
2
Seattle Coyotes.

Fitting. They eat cats and dogs here.

And sneak in for the goal.

Any chance of a Tim Hortons at the Arena?

This will make #OccupySeattle actions look like warm ups ...
Will in Seattle on January 4, 2012 at 12:05 PM Report this
3
With the conference reorganization happening next year, there would be room for two expansion teams to be added. That would be very cool. I kind of feel bad about taking Phoenix's team, since the fans that go to the games seem very passionate and supportive. OTOH, I have already renamed them, found new team colors and designed the logo in my head.
SeattleKim on January 4, 2012 at 12:08 PM Report this
4
Why the hell doesn't Seattle have hockey already? We're practically in Canada. We have curling here already. Curling. Hockey is a no-brainer.
Matt the Engineer on January 4, 2012 at 12:11 PM Report this
5
HELLZ YEAH!!! Wonder what the nickname would be...maybe they can, to bad the NBA owns the sonics name.
corky on January 4, 2012 at 12:12 PM Report this
6
As a transplant from Phoenix who still counts the 'Yotes as my second favorite team in pro sports (Go Sounders!), I would be ecstatic if this happened.
Renton Mike on January 4, 2012 at 12:27 PM Report this
7
@4: http://www.seattlehockey.net/Seattle_Hoc…

Long story short, the Ackerley family (then the Sonics owners) inexplicably torpedoed the most recent proposal in the early 1990s, and then proceeded to push through an expensive renovation to the Coliseum that made it great for basketball but atrocious for hockey.
sevenless on January 4, 2012 at 12:29 PM Report this
8
heck yes. but only if we don't have to pay for the damned arena.
on January 4, 2012 at 12:30 PM Report this
9
As much as I want an NHL franchise to come to Seattle and @1, I would be fourth in line if it becomes a done deal, I believe in the short term that it is more likely that Quebec will get it than us--they've got an arena deal in place, granted with a few legal challenges that in all likelyhood will be surmounted; In the Seattle area, we haven't even purchased enough land to plant an new arena much less have people who are willing to fund it, so I unfortunately don't see an NHL team in the imminent future for our area.

Islanders-2015?
neo-realist on January 4, 2012 at 12:34 PM Report this
10
@4: There's no really good arena for it. That's my biggest issue with it as well - provided all of the funds can be raised through the proposed taxes, it'd be nice. I have my doubts, though. As of 2010, we still owed $80 million on the *Kingdome.* I have no idea how much we owe for SafeCo and CenturyLink.

Meanwhile the proposed opening date on light rail in North Seattle is sometime in 2021. *sigh*
doceb on January 4, 2012 at 12:43 PM Report this
11
Oh, good, another free stadium for the billionaires.
Fnarf on January 4, 2012 at 12:45 PM Report this
12
@11 and they will get a tax deduction for giving friends tickets, too.
Will in Seattle on January 4, 2012 at 1:06 PM Report this
13
We should have put hockey rink underneath the new 520 bridge. See how popular those tolls become then!
tiktok on January 4, 2012 at 1:18 PM Report this
14
YES. BUILD IT.

HOCKEY & B-BALL FOR THE PUGET SOUND AREA!!

@5 - Seattle retains the name 'Supersonics' and can name any future NBA team 'Supersonics' or whatever else we might want.
merry on January 4, 2012 at 1:33 PM Report this
15
@9 is on the right track. Don Cherry stated how that 35% of the NHL's revenue comes from Canada/Canadians. Canada has one ninth the population of the US. Canada just reclaimed a franchise for Winnipeg, and possibly a reclamation for QC (Vivent les Nordiques!) or Hamilton, ON could be next. But Seattle should have a team anyway because it is at the 47th parallel, north of Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto.
Keister Button on January 4, 2012 at 1:35 PM Report this
16
@9 oh jesus no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no on the icelanders coming here. I could cheerfully side-root for a Seattle NHL club but as a Rangers fan I could sooner eat a bullet than root for the Flyers, Devils, or Islanders, under any name.

I'm sure I'd cave eventually, but I'd remain indignant and spiteful in my fandom.
Joe Szilagyi on January 4, 2012 at 1:40 PM Report this
17
Also, we already have a Seattle hockey name and history -- including the 1917 fucking Stanley Cup:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Met…

It would be weird being a Mets fan here, though, since I'm already a Mets fan back home in baseball.
Joe Szilagyi on January 4, 2012 at 1:42 PM Report this
18
@ 16, when franchises move and change their name, it's a clean slate. Don't believe me? Ask Patrick Roy if he ever would have agreed to play for the Nordiques.
Matt from Denver on January 4, 2012 at 1:55 PM Report this
19
an NHL team will come to Bellevue LONGGGGG before it comes to Seattle. Seattle doesn't have the demographics the NHL is looking for. Bellevue does, and they have a location for the arena, and investors ready to roll. Combine that with Microsofties ready to buy season tickets 10 minutes from work, and it is a win/win/win
on January 4, 2012 at 2:01 PM Report this
20
@19, Seattle, Bellevue... Frankly I don't care where it is, as long as it comes!

And I second the Timmy Ho's idea.
nicholaus on January 4, 2012 at 2:11 PM Report this
21
@18 well it depends. Like Seattle owns the Sonics name, marks, and records. I'm just saying--our city won a Stanley Cup, we should keep that history.

If the Islanders abandon that and hang no banners, I guess I could love them. But would they give up their own Stanley Cup history?
Joe Szilagyi on January 4, 2012 at 2:12 PM Report this
22
I'd just like to take a minute to point out how absolutely terrible the name "Puck Daddy" is.

Now that that's over, I'd be more than happy to throw cash at the future Seattle Metropolitans.
j.lee on January 4, 2012 at 2:49 PM Report this
23
so the shabby ol' mercer arena is not viable? i mean, the thunderbirds played hockey there for years.
scary tyler moore on January 4, 2012 at 2:51 PM Report this
24
The NHL has specific requirements for its arenas. The Key Arena remodel was specifically done per the Sonics requirements so that it would not meet the NHL specs. The Sonics didn't want the competition for concession stand dollars.
SeattleKim on January 4, 2012 at 2:56 PM Report this
25
@17 You can't be a Rangers fan and a Mets fan!

It's Yankees/Giants/Rangers/Knicks or

Mets/Jets/Islanders/Nets.

Rotten666 on January 4, 2012 at 2:58 PM Report this
26
@16, I'm a GAG line generation Ranger fan who remembers the Stanley Cup Islanders--I can let their past go if they come here:)

@19, if Bellevue is ready for an NHL franchise, why did they give Levin the finger when he tried to get it going there? That being said as @20 said, Seattle, Eastside, I don't care just get the NHL here.

@23, the Mercer Arena is not big enough for NHL Hockey, plus it's being used for storage and needs 20 million in repairs. If the Mercer Arena were brought up to code, the Rat City Rollergirls could use it for future derby tournaments.
neo-realist on January 4, 2012 at 3:00 PM Report this
27
How does Vancouver feel about this? Isn't this way Portland doesn't have a baseball team thew metro areas of Portland and Seattle are not that big, like Vancouver and Seattle.

Also @4 Vancouver is practically in MERICA not Seattle in Canada?

And can you have a Tim Horton's in the US?
Democrat1234 on January 4, 2012 at 3:39 PM Report this
28
@19 So what if the arena is in Bellevue? Do you really think the team will be called The Bellevue (fill-in-blank)?
McGee on January 4, 2012 at 5:32 PM Report this
29
If the Coyotes do move here, I hope they change the name. Seattle Coyotes rings as true as Utah Jazz or L.A. Lakers.

(Yes, I know there are coyotes up here. There's probably a jazz club in Salt Lake, too.)
Free Lunch on January 4, 2012 at 6:31 PM Report this
30
@28 I would think Bellevue officials wouldn't allow that NHL entity to be named anything "Seattle". If not Bellevue XXXfillinhere, then they will go generic and name the team Washington xxxxx (Cascades, Rainiers, Bombers, whatever)

But I agree. Just get a damn team here already.
on January 5, 2012 at 6:30 AM Report this
31
@27, go visit Ohio...there are Timmy Ho's in the US already. I'd love to see an NHL team in Seattle but agree with previous comments that there are some other cities that would be ahead of Seattle...
girlwearinsocks on January 5, 2012 at 12:10 PM Report this
32
@ 28. Bellevue may not have a say. The NHL might not gofor regional branding. The reason being to avoid confusion with The Washington Capitals. Neither the Caps nor a hypothetical Washington state team have the ingrained identity or legacy of Rangers/Islanders the only other two teams that can be considered to be branded regionally.
McGee on January 5, 2012 at 1:11 PM Report this
33
The lack of arena looms as the largest obstacle. I worry that it will come down to the local voter and their lack of enthusiasm for any infrastructure of any kind in this town. On the other hand there is a small but mighty hockey culture here and plenty of billionaires and millionaires to share the load. I'd love to see an ownership package similar to the Green Bay Packers and maybe even a privately funded arena. Sell bonds to build and when enough are sold... Start Digging. As someone who wittnessed the miracle of Avalanche hockey in Denver... if you build it they will come. Hockey culture exploded in the Mile High City once the Av's arrived and it can't but do the same here in Seattle. I frankly can't understand why it isn't more popular already... what the heck do people do with their kids here all winter if they aren't taking them to a rink?
on January 5, 2012 at 6:21 PM Report this
34
NHL IN SEATTLE!!! I WOULD CANCEL MY FULL SEASON BLAZER TICKETS, TIMBERS TICKETS AND WINTERHAWKS TICKETS!! I WANT MY NHL FULL SEASON TICKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
on January 21, 2012 at 5:13 PM Report this

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview
Posted by (your name here)

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.

Editors' Picks

How to "Aid and Abet" an Abortion
Belltown Bloom's Electrifying Pussy Power
The Stranger’s 2023 Sex Survey Results
Why the Left Will Continue to Lose on Homelessness
Mayor Harrell Delays Climate Action He Already Weakened
So You Want a Vagina
The Stranger
is a proud member of the network
Newsletters Masthead Ad Info & Rates Sell Tickets Jobs at The Stranger Contact Privacy Policy Terms of Use Takedown Policy Find The Stranger Near You Subscribe to The Stranger in Print
Support The Stranger
All contents © Noisy Creek, Inc.
1101 East Pike St. Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98122