Following a city council vote, Seattle's moving forward with a $600 million plan to renovate KeyArena in the hopes of attracting hockey and men's basketball.
[Updated January 3, 2018] Following a previous proposal that died in the Seattle City Council last year, a new bid to update the city's arena has been approved. Hayat Norimine writes, "The $600 million plan by Los Angeles-based Oak View Group is all but done—to get the new arena constructed by October 2020, in time for the 2020-2021 NHL season. And the planners believe that if they can get hockey, they can also attract men's basketball."
Seattle has been without a basketball team since 2008, when the Sonics relocated to Oklahoma City, where they now play as the Oklahoma City Thunder. As for the role of the KeyArena in the team's departure, Norimine writes, "The arena as is became too small and limited profits for the team."
Next steps include completing an environmental impact statement and applying for designation on both on the Washington Heritage Register and National Register of Historic Places. "If the arena's accepted, that would qualify OVG to get federal tax credits and use that money to finance part of the project."
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