Construction of the Kraken's new training facility and HQ "remains on track for a mid-July first-phase opening next summer of the main rink and player locker and training rooms," according to Geoff Baker of the SEATTLE TIMES. The team wants those items in place "by the time the team starts drafting players next summer so staffers can prepare for September training camp ahead of time." The Northgate Mall site "will contain three indoor ice rinks and team lockers, training rooms, a medical facility, media center and corporate offices." The video screen, at the opposite end of the building near its front entrance, is "where the team plans to show all 82 of the Kraken's regular-season games both home and away." Fans can either "sit in the 1,000-capacity grandstands of the venue's main NHL rink or in the upper restaurant area and take in games as if watching it at a supersized sports bar." There will be a broadcast center in an area behind the bar, where a crew "could provide in-house play-by-play commentary separate from what would be heard on radio or television." By September, second-floor team offices overlooking the main rink "are to be finished as are two adjacent rinks and the restaurant and bar." The team will allow fans "to attend most training camp workout sessions and in-season morning practices, likely free of charge" (SEATTLE TIMES, 10/1).
