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David Bonderman, left, of Seattle Hockey Partners, and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan talk to reporters as they leave a meeting at National Hockey League headquarters in New York City, Oct. 2, 2018.
The goal of Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to bring a NHL expansion team to the city in the next few years is one step closer to reality, following a decision from the league’s full Board of Governors on Tuesday to move forward with a recommendation.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the nine-owner executive committee has recommended moving forward with plans to add a team in Seattle, and the final vote to approve the franchise could take place in December.
Seattle Hockey Partners – the potential ownership group — along with Durkan presented their case to the committee on Tuesday in New York City. The new Seattle club would bring the league to 32 teams and would follow the launch of the highly successful Vegas Golden Knights franchise in 2017.
Last week, the Seattle City Council unanimously voted to approve plans for a privately funded $700 million renovation of KeyArena, the last major obstacle the city faced in its bid for a team. Construction is contingent on the city first acquiring a NHL franchise, but whether conditional approval from the league is enough to begin work on the arena remains to be seen.
Seattle is the largest market in the United States without a winter professional sports team, since the departure of pro basketball’s Seattle SuperSonics to Oklahoma City in 2008. The Sonics had been in Seattle since 1967, and their relocation was traumatic for the city’s sports fans.
Season ticket deposits for the proposed NHL club had to be cut off earlier this year after booming interest.
“Seattle’s a place you want to have hockey, and if you have hockey in Seattle, everybody’s going to do better,” Durkan said.
Bettman expects the final vote to take place in the next couple of months unless any unforeseen obstacles hinder the process, such as construction issues on the arena. He also noted that more information needs to be collected before the board meets in early December, as well as clarity regarding which year the expansion team would begin play.
Durkan said she hopes to have the team ready for the 2020-21 season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.