Seattle fans’ dreams of an NBA team returning to their beloved city became somewhat more tangible with the city council voting to approve the $660 million renovations to Key Arena.
Mayor of Seattle Jenny Durkan signed the Memorandum of Understanding which will put the privately funded project into motion. The funding for the arena will be taken care of by the Los Angeles based Oak View Group.
Council has authorized Mayor Durkan to execute an agreement with Oak View Group to redevelop @KeyArenaSeattle into a world-class multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena
— Seattle City Council (@SeattleCouncil) December 5, 2017
The project that was announced back in September is finally coming to fruition, with it comes new entertainment possibilities for the Seattle area. The renovations are to be done by October 2020.
In the immediate future, the city hopes that the arena will attract an NHL team. The future of Seattle as an NBA city is still unknown but is high on the list of priorities for the town.
According to Chris Daniels of KING5 in Seattle, city leaders have meetings set up for this week about plans for Key Arena.
Multiple people at Seattle City Hall have told KING 5 they believe the NHL will make some sort of announcement about the project soon. Durkan said Wednesday she has not spoke with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, but the league’s owners will meet for long planned meetings on Thursday and Friday.
Since the Seattle Supersonics were sold out of town in 2008, fans have been clamoring for the league to expand back into Seattle. The enthusiasm hasn’t been limited to the immediate area. Seattle is a popular sports city, and many fans want to see the citizens rewarded with a team again.
