The group looking to bring the NHL to Seattle will address the league's exec committee Oct. 2 in N.Y., and if the "presentation meets approval," the full NHL BOG would "vote in December in Florida" on whether to award the city an expansion franchise for $650M to play at a remodeled KeyArena, according to Geoff Baker of the SEATTLE TIMES. David Wright has become the "lead representative of a group of local minority owners" for the expected expansion franchise. Wright will become Vice Chair of the Seattle Hockey Partners Group -- commonly known as NHL Seattle -- that has "applied to purchase an expansion team, where he’ll be a voice for the local owners." He and his brother, Jeff, are "two of seven members of a local group" that includes Sounders Owner Adrian Hanauer, Chris and Ted Ackerley -- whose father was a longtime Sonics owner -- Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy and BDA CEO Jay Deutsch. They will "own an as-of-yet undisclosed minority stake in the NHL franchise." The presence of TPG Capital Partner and Celtics minority owner David Bonderman, the potential owner of NHL Seattle, and now the Ackerley brothers and others with "connections to multiple sports within the NHL team’s ownership group is also a sign that a bid for an NBA franchise looms probable" (SEATTLE TIMES, 9/6).
