The NHL Seattle group will announce Monday that its new training center -- a "minimum three-ice-rink facility to serve as the hub of team operations" -- will be at the 55-acre site of the "massively-redeveloped Northgate Mall, steps away from a planned Light Rail station," according to Geoff Baker of the SEATTLE TIMES. The site is currently in the "permitting process for a three-phase redevelopment." Sources did "confirm the Northgate site as the location, which had been long rumored given the facility is contractually obligated to be within Seattle city limits and there are few alternatives with the land size needed." The venue will be designed by K.C.-based Generator Studio. A $68M, 275,000-square-foot facility currently being built by the company for the Blues is "considered one of the grandest of its kind." NHL Seattle President & CEO Tod Leiweke and Generator Studio "worked on a loge and suites remodel of Amalie Arena in Tampa" when Leiweke was Lightning CEO. It is possible the new training facility "could be located elsewhere," but it would "have to go through additional review hoops to get approved." The three-phase Northgate renovation "covers 33 of the 55 acres on-site and could take up to 15 years to complete." Time is "of the essence, since NHL Seattle hopes to have an expansion team begin play" by October '20 and would "need a practice facility finalized before that" (SEATTLE TIMES, 10/5).
