Seattle wins bid for new NHL expansion team!
The KeyArena will house a new NHL team moving forward, starting with the 2018-2019 season
May 28, 2018
Las Vegas, NV -- The NHL Board of Governors met tonight just before the first game of the Stanley Cup finals between the Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights gets underway here in Las Vegas to discuss additional league expansion and voted unanimously to approve a 32nd team.
Given the enormous success of the Vegas Golden Knights in their first year and the desire to move to a round 32 teams, the league was looking to expand again as soon as possible and the approved bid was from a group based in Seattle. The group, led by billionaire David Bonderman, Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and longtime sports executive Tim Leiweke, is spending roughly $700 million to renovate the KeyArena for a modern hockey team. The group has also expressed interest in bring NBA basketball back to Seattle in the past.
The area is hungry for a team, as more than 33,000 fans placed deposits on season tickets when the bid was first placed. Seattle's hungry market and existing arena mean the team is ripe for a start as soon as the upcoming 2018-2019 season. GM's are aghast at the possibility of having an expansion draft so soon, but also keen to expand while the painful lessons of the Vegas expansion draft are still fresh in their minds. They are determined to not let another expansion team become a title contender so quickly. The league is trying to hurry the process along as the expansion draft is scheduled for June 21st, leaving all 32 teams without much time to prepare.
The team will be announcing their front office and coaching staff as well as their uniforms and branding shortly.