Tacoma to renovate Tacoma Dome for NHL and/or NBA team?

[Melrose Munch]

http://blogs.theprovince.com/2011/09/13/an-nhl-team-in-the-tacoma-dome/

Seattle coming faster than we think?

Click to read more...

 

[LadyStanley]

But how many would it seat (for hockey) and what would the site lines look like?

That picture shows me it would be worse for the first ten rows or so as you're so far from the center of the arena (where one might assume they'd put the ice).


And who might a potential owner be?


FWIW, I think that a team relocating to Tacoma would probably go with a "Washington" location in the name rather than Seattle.

 

[Melrose Munch]

I think around 16k Lady

I know its 17,100 for Basketball.

The Guy from Chicago(Levin), Ballmer are potential owners

 

[Melrose Munch]

http://www.king5.com/news/cities/tacoma/Tacoma-to-look-at-NBA-NHL-option-129742203.html

Another Link.

 

[knorthern knight]

The one review I could find, absolutely panned it...

The Tacoma Dome is a geodesic dome in the southern Puget Sound city of Tacoma. Designed by the legendary Buckminster Fuller, the dome seats an improbable 17,000 people for hockey. It was home to the expansion Tacoma Rockets from 1991 to 1995, before common sense prevailed and the team was moved from their geodesic home to Kelowna.

Ray Marcham says: The Tacoma Dome is the ultimate multi-purpose arena - and, frankly, not good for any sport. It hosts American football, soccer, basketball, hockey and indoor soccer. The side seats for Rockets games were horrible - the pitch was too shallow. The "front row" of seats were still 50 feet away from the ice, and the arena floor was the main concourse. There were four rows of temp seats set up along the boards to try and give it a "real" hockey feel, but it didn't work. There are no corner seats, as the seating is much like an old-style English football stadium. Except when Tacoma played Seattle, they didn't draw well. There was a reason they went to Kelowna as fast as they could.

In its current layout, and given that it's 28 years old, it's nothing more than an emergency temporary home, along the lines of Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, or the current La Colisee in Quebec.

Edit; The Tacoma Rockets were a WHL franchise.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Not really seeing how any amount of money could turn this...

... into a proper NHL venue. Maybe, just maybe as a temp site as a new arena's being built, but not buying it as a permanent home.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Of course this would be a temp site.

But the NHL will take a black eye if they have to move two teams into Canada within a business year.

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

Of course this would be a temp site.

So why not just wait then? Instead of pouring millions of dollars into this as a temporary spot to play, just wait a few years until a new arena is built.

Although it seems to me they're talking about renovating this place as a permanent home for a team.

 

[MoreOrr]

None of this is a surprise to me. I knew as soon as we heard a few months ago that the NHL was talking to people in Seattle about a potential team going there that somehow this was going to get done. Since then there's been Levin who's said he wants to bring a team there. Then we here that Seattle is considered by the League as a potential NHL site. And now this.

Seattle/Tacoma will be the Phoenix out, not Quebec City!
You hear a cheer going up!

 

[Bear of Bad News]

I've seen WCHL hockey at the Tacoma Dome. It was...what's a good word for it?..."difficult".

 

[Melrose Munch]

So why not just wait then? Instead of pouring millions of dollars into this as a temporary spot to play, just wait a few years until a new arena is built.

Although it seems to me they're talking about renovating this place as a permanent home for a team.

Because the NHL wants in now.

 

[Melrose Munch]

None of this is a surprise to me. I knew as soon as we heard a few months ago that the NHL was talking to people in Seattle about a potential team going there that somehow this was going to get done. Since then there's been Levin who's said he wants to bring a team there. Then we here that Seattle is considered by the League as a potential NHL site. And now this.

Seattle/Tacoma will be the Phoenix out, not Quebec City!
You hear a cheer going up!

QC would be good for Canada and me personally but the PR disaster - the NHL is failing in the US- would be some kind of nasty.

 

[Rocko604]

For a temporary venue, they'd be better off playing at Key Arena. That's how awful I think the Tacoma Dome would be.

 

[SeattleShark]

the tacoma dome is just awful. no way a professional sports team should ever play there even if they put a bunch of money into it

 

[enigma4289]

Just to show everybody, this is what the hockey set-up for the Tacoma Dome is.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Just to show everybody, this is what the hockey set-up for the Tacoma Dome is.

Worst. Winter Classic venue. Ever.

 

[Dolemite]

I've seen WCHL hockey at the Tacoma Dome. It was...what's a good word for it?..."difficult".

Understatement.

That dome (been there tons of times) is good for three things:

- Concerts
- Football
- Conventions

They would have to make some major upgrades to make it better for hockey fans. Sight lines were horrid not to mention the distance (in some places) between the seats and the ice.

The Canucks played an exhibition there many, many moons ago. The NHL didn't return following that game.

Granted, efficient mass transit has increased exponentially since then so getting to the Tacoma Donut is easier now during rush hour.

::edit::

One other thing, if Tacoma is going to attempt to attract an NBA team they will need to level a good portion of the city blocks around it and redevelop it. Surrounding the dome area is nothing but an industrial wasteland.

If this is going to be a temporary home for an NHL or NBA team, this is a great option. If this is going to be a permanent home for an NHL/NBA team.....pass.

 

[blueandgoldguy]

So why not just wait then? Instead of pouring millions of dollars into this as a temporary spot to play, just wait a few years until a new arena is built.

Although it seems to me they're talking about renovating this place as a permanent home for a team.

The article that Melrose Mulch gave stated that the motivation behind looking at the Tacoma Dome as a home to an NHL team may be to recognize the fact that a new arena would have to built to make an NHL/NBA team viable for the long term.

 

[worstfaceoffmanever]

Not really seeing how any amount of money could turn this...

... into a proper NHL venue. Maybe, just maybe as a temp site as a new arena's being built, but not buying it as a permanent home.

Well, the Spurs played in the Alamodome, and the Lightning played at freaking Tropicana Field for three years waiting on the SPT Forum, so I don't see why this couldn't be set up to work as a temporary facility if Glendale suddenly decides to stop covering the Coyotes' losses.

 

[Ruslan Zainullin]

seattle losing the sonics seemed to have more to do with the key arena (or whatever its called) than any lack of fan support. seems to me like this thing has more to do with getting an nba team back (which seattle covets) than getting an nhl team (which seems like an afterthought). honestly im starting to wonder if some of these southern teams cannot support themselves if contraction, rather than relocation is the answer.

 

[Dolemite]

seattle losing the sonics seemed to have more to do with the key arena (or whatever its called) than any lack of fan support.

It's a long story. The short version is that then Sonics owner Barry Ackerly didn't want an NHL team taking money away from his team so Key Arena was built into an NBA only arena.

Look where that got everyone.

 

[Ruslan Zainullin]

It's a long story. The short version is that then Sonics owner Barry Ackerly didn't want an NHL team taking money away from his team so Key Arena was built into an NBA only arena.

Look where that got everyone.

you seem to have more insight into this than i do, do the people in seattle really want an nhl team? or do they just want the NBA back?

 

[Dolemite]

you seem to have more insight into this than i do, do the people in seattle really want an nhl team? or do they just want the NBA back?

I used to live there for many years.

They definitely want the NBA back. Clay Bennett wanted an NBA team and he did everything in his power to make that happen.

The NHL has a pretty big underground fan base in the entire area. Hockey has a tradition in the area with 4 WHL teams in the state (Seattle, Everett, Spokane, and the Tri-Cities) but Football is king.

 

[Drury_Sakic]

Seems foolish to waste any money in there.

If the plan is to have it as a temp home, why not put the money that would be used for renovations into simply paying more to have the new arena built faster. If the ownership group is there and if needed the city/state government wants the team, front the money now and get the rink built in 10-11 months. It can be done.

If they cannot commit to a proper rink now, why risk moving the team into a major dive and pray that a real rink eventually gets built?

 

[htpwn]

Well, the Spurs played in the Alamodome, and the Lightning played at freaking Tropicana Field for three years waiting on the SPT Forum, so I don't see why this couldn't be set up to work as a temporary facility if Glendale suddenly decides to stop covering the Coyotes' losses.

The NHL would likely need to see shovels in the ground on a new arena before moving a team into a temporary facility.