JMR
Go Army!
I am not trying to make a case for the Key being the ideal spot or better than any other spot, but if it's good enough to get us an NHL team then that's fine by me. I just wanted a team, and now it looks like we'll get one.Yeah looks like it is going to happen for hockey at least. Don't think anyone doubted that the NHL wanted a team in Seattle or that their wasn't enough enthusiasm for hockey here. Rather it was the location in regard to traffic, parking and size of the arena ( mostly for basketball though).
Apparently for now the NHL is OK with the Key being home to a hockey team. However traffic and parking problems remain. Lower Queen has some of the highest population density in the city and there are projects to increase that already approved. Down the road I see a request from NHL for a new arena forth coming and I don't think the NBA will ever consider the Key as home for a NBA team. Time will tell.
What bothers me is that the city sabotaged Hansen project for a new arena, which had ever advantage for a location for the NHL and NBA and fans of said sports. It all comes down to trying to keep the Key from being a white elephant. IMO they are just delaying that from happening and tax payers would be better served if the city simply sold the property.
NBA will be tricky. I don't think the facility is what is holding us back. They clearly seem to be dead set against expansion, so it's probably going to have to be a relocation of a current team...and as we saw a few years back with Sacramento, that's a tough battle.