KeyArena Reopening Expected To Be Delayed To Late Summer 2021

NHL Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke said that KeyArena's reopening is "expected to be pushed back at least two months, to late summer of 2021, because of coronavirus-related slowdowns," according to Geoff Baker of the SEATTLE TIMES. While construction has continued almost daily since the coronavirus pandemic struck, some "delays acquiring building materials and the challenges of working around enhanced safety measures likely will push the reopening back from June 1, 2021, to August to mid-September." The newly envisioned time frame means that the WNBA Seattle Storm "will have to play at least part of the 2021 season in temporary facilities, as it has been doing since last year." NHL Seattle "won't need the venue until its on-ice debut in October of next year." Leiweke yesterday said that he "doesn't foresee issues there." Baker notes there is "no chance now of Seattle hosting next June's NHL draft and expansion draft" (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/17).