Who would have thought that during a Stanley Cup final between two incredibly boring and embarrassing teams, the blackhawks and bruins, we would actually encounter some interesting hockey news? There are reports emerging that the Coyotes could theoretically play in Seattle next season if all the stars align.
It looks like there are three primary issues right now that could easily keep this from happening. The first should be obvious. The league has been trying for years to find a way to keep the team in place. It’s hard to believe that the devil, Gary Bettman, would actually acknowledge that Phoenix (Glendale actually) was a failure. That said, the seemingly never ending saga of the money-draining franchise has to be resolved at some point.
Reports indicate that the league has a deal in place to keep the team in Glendale. Most of these reports mention a demand for the city to help fund the team’s operation. That’s a tough sell, and something that could potentially cause the deal to fall apart. It sounds like there are other interested parties that are lesser known, but most indications are that most potential ownership groups want the city to chip in.
The second issue is the temporary arena situation. The obvious choice for a short-term home would be Key Arena. This is where the SuperSonics used to play. It was also designed to keep the NHL out (the Sonics used to have an owner with a grudge against the NHL). This problem is most notable in the arena’s small size.
A second option for a temporary arena can be found in Tacoma. I’m talking about the Tacoma Dome. The large wooden dome (world’s largest wooden dome by some measures) is further from Seattle. It also doesn’t have the best seating. This is why two different hockey teams have failed in the Tacoma Dome. On the other hand, Tacoma Rockets games against the Seattle Thunderbirds drew record crowds. The Tacoma Dome also served as a temporary home for the Sonics when the Coliseum (as Key Arena was known at the time) was renovated.
So we have one arena with low capacity and another with lower quality seating. Key Arena is more convenient for Seattleites, but the Tacoma Dome could make the sport accessible to a larger crowd. I should also mention transit. Seattle is a larger city, so they have more transportation options. I actually don’t think that is an advantage for Key Arena. Keep on mind that Sound Transit runs extra Sounder trains for Tacomans to attend sporting events in Seattle. I would expect the reverse to also be true. Do you know where the closest Sounder station is to the Tacoma Dome? Hint: It’s known as the Tacoma Dome Station.
Of course, I’m biased. The Tacoma Dome is far more accessible to me. Both options are less than ideal, but the NHL refusing to allow the Canucks to move their farm team to Seattle due to the market being unavailable could indicate a willingness to work something out. The bad news is that while Seattle has stated that they think Key Arena would work, we have not heard anything definitive from the league.
Finally, I’ll bring up the third issue with relocation. While an arena deal is in place, it is not set up for NHL to come before the NBA. Chris Hanson (the person who is pursuing the arena and an NBA franchise) has indicated that the deal could be restructured. As far as I’m aware, no work has actually been done to restructure the deal. Part of the original plan was to start construction after Hansen secured an NBA team. It seems that Hansen doesn’t want to invest his money until he knows the arena won’t be empty. The question here is, would Hansen still be willing to spend that money on somebody else’s NHL team? If not, the money would have to come from somewhere. Maybe the potential owners for the NHL team would help with the arena. Perhaps they would split the bill. Maybe Hansen would still put up the money in hopes that progress would help lure the NBA.
Like I said, both existing arenas have problems. It might be a tough sell to get the NHL to agree to either one on a temporary basis, but it would be tougher to convince them to move to Seattle unless they can get a deal done to start construction on a new facility.
I know I’m not offering anything that you can’t find elsewhere, but I just wanted to share my thoughts. I hope what I have written isn’t overly negative. While there are still a lot of obstacles to overcome, there are also a lot of reasons to pay attention. There is already an ownership group in place. The league has been in talks with the city of Seattle. The NHL has rejected a farm club move to Seattle. While this is hardly a sure thing, I’m certainly following what’s happening.
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