Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Here’s what hockey could look like in Seattle

Seattle arena

The same day the NHL made realignment official -- complete with a couple of open spots in the Western Conference! -- the man who hopes to bring the NBA back to to Seattle, investor Chris Hansen, released drawings of what a planned new arena in the Pacific Northwest city could look like for a hockey game.

Seattle arena

Wrote Hansen in a blog post:

The bottom line is as good as this is for basketball, it is an even better building for hockey.

As can be seen in the pictures above, as with most NBA/NHL buildings we have designed the seats behind the backboard/goal to retract backwards and the first few rows of courtside seating can be removed to accommodate hockey’s larger playing surface and dasher board. The net result puts hockey fans even closer to the action, including our pocket suites. Given the size of the playing surface and speed of the game, we also think the Sonic Rings will prove to be one of the most unique and valued viewing experiences in the game.

While I know there may have been a few skeptics out there, I have to say I am just as pumped as most of you to see the return of professional hockey to Seattle, and honestly can’t wait to see this building bursting at the seams with crazed Seattle hockey fans.

If Hansen is successful in buying and moving the NBA’s Sacramento Kings -- still a big if at this point -- Seattle would become a serious NHL relocation/expansion candidate.

While Hansen isn’t interested in owning a hockey team in Seattle, others have said they are.

In a related story, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was asked about the Phoenix Coyotes today on a conference call.

Is Greg Jamison still trying to buy the team from the league?

“I think Jamison may still be in the picture, but there are others who have expressed interest,” said Bettman.

Bettman on Seattle: “We’ll deal with possible relocation or relocation whenever we find ourselves in those processes.”

— Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) March 14, 2013