Seattle City Council Approves $700million for NHL Arena
As if the NHL coming to Seattle in 2020 wasn't inevitable already, this seals the deal.
- They've got the prospective majority owners with NHL connections who are ready to spend lotsa dosh,
- They've got heavy-hitting local minority owners who solidify community ties,
- The season-ticket drive hit its goal of 10,000 buyers in only 12 minutes, and
- The city's already paved the way by approving a re-fit of the existing Key Arena:
On Mon 24 Sep, Seattle's city council green-lit the agreement that serves as their official blessing of the project.
Who wouldn't like their end of the bargain? The $700million cost of this playpen will be footed by the ownership.
Given OG-in-Chief David Bonderman's affinity for opulence, this'll damn near be pocket change.
That's a good thing ...
- The NHL's gonna hit up the ownership for another $650million,
- The median team payroll for 2018-2019 is around $60million, and
- Then there's all the other stuff that'll run up a few million more.
The NHL says the earliest they'll consider Seattle's formal presentation and bestow final approval for the expansion franchise will be in December.
No matter when they get around to it, the plan seems to be carved in stone that the team will hit the ice in 2020-2021, and unsolicited realignment suggestions are everywhere. Not to mention those for team names.
Until then, Bonderman will surely have no loss of ideas as to how to amuse himself.