NHL to Seattle Volume XV - Moving the Expansion Needle [Upd: 9/24 Arena Reno. Unanimously Approved]

[gstommylee]

I am here.

Went to a Sounders game last night, parked on Occidental.

I kind of get the Port of Seattle's point on traffic now. Had to see it to believe it. That whole area is a nightmare when there's events going on.

Huge difference between a 40k soccer game and a 18k event at an arena.

 

[BattleBorn]

Huge difference between a 40k soccer game and a 18k event at an arena.

I figured half the people parked north of Safeco.

I'm just comparing it to T-Mobile Arena, where they close a single lane out of 2/3 on 2/3 different streets and get the place emptied out within 30 minutes.

We hung around 25 minutes after the end of the game and Seattle PD still had intersections backed up/officer controlled 40-45 minutes afterward. Took us 20 minutes to get from Occidental/Holgate to 90.

I'm sure they could have dealt with it due to timing (didn't see a truck anywhere,) and Key Arena won't be any better, but I still get what their beef is with regards to traffic. At least from what I saw in this one game.

 

[gstommylee]

I figured half the people parked north of Safeco.

I'm just comparing it to T-Mobile Arena, where they close a single lane out of 2/3 on 2/3 different streets and get the place emptied out within 30 minutes.

We hung around 25 minutes after the end of the game and Seattle PD still had intersections backed up/officer controlled 40-45 minutes afterward. Took us 20 minutes to get from Occidental/Holgate to 90.

I'm sure they could have dealt with it due to timing (didn't see a truck anywhere,) and Key Arena won't be any better, but I still get what their beef is with regards to traffic. At least from what I saw in this one game.

The thing is that stretch of road that was part of the street vacation isn't even a truck route. So not sure why they were so uppity. Either way its all in the past.

 

[superdeluxe]

I am here.

Went to a Sounders game last night, parked on Occidental.

I kind of get the Port of Seattle's point on traffic now. Had to see it to believe it. That whole area is a nightmare when there's events going on.

Awesome, the city loves its Sounders

 

[superdeluxe]

What’s in a name? For Seattle’s future NHL team, more than meets the Sock-eye

Geoff Baker takes a look at NHL Seattle team names.

The local Seattle Sin Bin hockey website held a weekslong, bracket-style, fan-vote contest between 32 potential names in which the saltwater trout “Steelheads’’ prevailed over a “Thunderbirds’’ moniker already used by our Kent-based junior hockey team. Of 1,531 final-round votes, Steelheads garnered 52 percent. Totems, Emeralds, Kraken, Sockeyes, Wolves and Sasquatch all made the Elite Eight round.
Otto Rogers, who runs the site with his namesake, Paul Rogers, said the most heated hockey discussions he has heard lately involve the future team’s name.
“I think people want to be involved somehow in the team,’’ Rogers said. “We’re two years away from having the team play, so what can we really talk about? The one thing we can talk about is the team name and the team colors.’’
Rogers won’t rule out traditional Seattle hockey names like Metropolitans, Totems and Thunderbirds eventually getting chosen. He feels Metropolitans – upended by Emeralds in his contest’s Sweet Sixteen — would have won outright had fans merely picked one name off a list rather than voting in weekly elimination rounds.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

I feel like New York Mets would take an issue with Metropolitans.

 

[gstommylee]

I feel like New York Mets would take an issue with Metropolitans.

They can't complain since it doesn't actually infringe. Seattle Metropolitans as a hockey name. There are team names that share the same name among different sports. Giants, cardinals, rangers, kings for example. Trade mark would be specific to hockey use not general use.

 

[jbron]

 

[StreetHawk]

They can't complain since it doesn't actually infringe. Seattle Metropolitans as a hockey name. There are team names that share the same name among different sports. Giants, cardinals, rangers, kings for example. Trade mark would be specific to hockey use not general use.

Yeah but if Seattle is trying to build a brand that ultimately is more than regional I think it’s best that they don’t have the same name as another NA pro franchise.

Rangers, kings, giants, jets, cardinals, panthers already doubled named, with the panthers being the most recent from 20 odd years ago. Still baffles me that Carolina opted for that name when Florida picked it a couple of years earlier.

The jets came back with being gone for 15 years. Metros it has been decades since they were around. I think better to use something different. To honour that name, I’d have a shoulder patch that could be a metros logo. Besides, a metros logo is likely something with the space needle and the monorail. Sounders already use that. Storm also. And the sonics used the Seattle skyline in their logo. Do we really need another one?

 

[superdeluxe]

Tod Leiweke joined Dave mahler with a new weekly show, Tuesday’s with Tod. Tod spoke about plans for more ice and more:

The Oak View Group has narrowed down a potential practice facility that could help reduce the rising costs associated with youth hockey

 

[snovalleyhockeyfan]

Minor piece of news, ot here, but worth noting on the KeyArena front today. Concerns one of the two main tenants that will be displaced for the reconstruction, the WNBA's Seattle Storm, and where they will play their games while the Key is being redone. The other, Seattle University's men's basketball team, has an on-campus arena and it's likely they'll use that for games along with either ShoWare or Everett's arenas.

 

[Disappointed EP40]

On twitter many m's fans were not happy about this.

People angry on twitter? Weird.

 

[tony d]

Always interesting to keep up to date with this. To me Seattle getting a NHL team is a when not if now. Wonder what their nickname will be.

 

[Neill99]

Hi when will they be approved for and NHL Expansion team.

 

[snovalleyhockeyfan]

Hi when will they be approved for and NHL Expansion team.

Guess here is we should hear something in September, but likely more in December. It's all contingent most likely on getting shovels in the ground. I would refer you to the podcast that SD linked above. That was the first installment of what will be a weekly series on KJR radio in which host Dave Mahler interviews Tod Leiweke about the NHL/Seattle bid. That interview segment will usually air at 9:20pm ET/6:20pm PT during Mahler's radio show on KJR which can be webstreamed through IHeart and they'll usually post podcasts of it following each segment and I'm assuming Tommy or SD will be doing that otherwise I can also post those here each week.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Turns out New York Mets legal title is actually New York Mets. So if they go with Metropolitans I guess Mets don't have a ground to sue.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Minor piece of news, ot here, but worth noting on the KeyArena front today. Concerns one of the two main tenants that will be displaced for the reconstruction, the WNBA's Seattle Storm, and where they will play their games while the Key is being redone. The other, Seattle University's men's basketball team, has an on-campus arena and it's likely they'll use that for games along with either ShoWare or Everett's arenas.

Maybe Storm should stay at UW, the capacity seems to suit them much better.

 

[gstommylee]

Maybe Storm should stay at UW, the capacity seems to suit them much better.

Na team will be playing at the Seattle center arena once its done.

 

[StreetHawk]

Turns out New York Mets legal title is actually New York Mets. So if they go with Metropolitans I guess Mets don't have a ground to sue.

Yeah, but the metropolitans were last around in 1924. That’s 94 years ago. If Seattle enters in 2020 that’s still 96 years. Who still remembers seeing them live or anything?

I think for branding purposes it’s better for Seattle to go with a name not used in North American pro sports.

There’s like 6 names that overlap in the big 4 in North America.

Plus, with that name it would be another skyline or space needle on the logo like he sonics, sounders, and storm. Do something different.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Yeah, but the metropolitans were last around in 1924. That’s 94 years ago. If Seattle enters in 2020 that’s still 96 years. Who still remembers seeing them live or anything?

I think for branding purposes it’s better for Seattle to go with a name not used in North American pro sports.

There’s like 6 names that overlap in the big 4 in North America.

Plus, with that name it would be another skyline or space needle on the logo like he sonics, sounders, and storm. Do something different.

I mean they probably won't go for it, but Senators did.

 

[StreetHawk]

I mean they probably won't go for it, but Senators did.

Didn’t mind the sens name as no other team was using it. It the ny Mets went by another name, I’d be ok with Seattle going metropolitans. Even though I dont want to see another space needle themed logo.

 

[superdeluxe]

Maybe Storm should stay at UW, the capacity seems to suit them much better.

They are apparently getting a locker room built for the team at the Seattle Center Arena. So I think UW will only be temp.

 

[Melrose Munch]

The name of the team should be Thunderbirds. They need to pay the junior team for the rights.

 

[gstommylee]

The name of the team should be Thunderbirds. They need to pay the junior team for the rights.

and be forced to change the logo cause it uses vancouver colors. I am against the idea of making the WHL to rebrand.

 

[Rebels57]

and be forced to change the logo cause it uses vancouver colors. I am against the idea of making the WHL to rebrand.

Vancouver should go back to their black, orange and yellow flying skate jerseys and let Seattle have that color scheme.