Seattle Mayor Looks To Remodel KeyArena, Return NBA To City

With 40 Empty Dates To Fill, Managers Look To Add More Concerts, Events At KeyArena In '09

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said that he "hasn't spoken to anyone with the NBA since" the Sonics relocated to Oklahoma City earlier this year, but he "feels 'the door is open there' to the league returning to what would be a remodeled KeyArena," according to Gregg Bell of the AP. Nickels said that Seattle "will ask for authorization to divert 1[%] of the existing hotels tax in Seattle from the convention and visitors bureau to the city." Nickels said, "Those funds (would be) available for an NBA franchise." Bell noted the funds could "generate enough money to back $75[M] in bonds." Nickels said of an NBA team returning to Seattle, "We think the door is open there. We feel like there's a working relationship possible there." Even though the city's latest plan asks for far less compared to Thunder Owner Clay Bennett's proposal for a new Seattle arena, "legislative leaders aren't thrilled that city officials are trying to force a 2009 deadline upon them" (AP, 10/20).

PLANNING AHEAD: The PUGET SOUND BUSINESS JOURNAL's Greg Lamm writes under the header, "Sans Sonics, KeyArena Scrambles To Fill The Dates." With "some of the 40 dates that were formerly blocked off during the NBA season" now available, Seattle Center Dir Robert Nellams, who oversees KeyArena, said that the venue "will be able to go after more concerts and family shows, as well as high school graduations." However, arena managers "project 120 events at KeyArena" for '08, down from 144 in '07. To "backfill the loss of the teams, KeyArena has booked 12 events for the coming months, including" a Seattle Univ. (SU) basketball game. Managers are "projecting that they could add about 36 more events in 2010." Nellams said that the city "also is close to reaching a new lease agreement with the WNBA Seattle Storm, which plays about 20 games a year in KeyArena." The city and SU also are "negotiating an agreement to play basketball in KeyArena when the university next year joins" Division I (PUGET SOUND BUSINESS JOURNAL, 10/17 issue).