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Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor
arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectato ...
in Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, United States. It is located north of Downtown Seattle
Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west b ...
in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center
Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington, United States. Spanning an area of 74 acres (30 ha), it was originally built for the 1962 World's Fair. Its landmark feature is the tall Space Need ...
, the site of the 1962 World's Fair
The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) was a world's fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington, United States. for which it was originally developed. After opening in 1962, it was subsequently bought and converted by the city of Seattle for entertainment purposes. From 2018 to 2021, the arena underwent a $1.15 billion redevelopment; the renovation preserved the original exterior and roof, which was declared a
The arena opened in 1962 as the Washington State Pavilion for the
Seattle Landmark
The City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board, part of the Department of Neighborhoods of the city of Seattle, Washington, United States, designates city landmarks. According to the department's official website, the following are designated ...
in 2017 and was listed on the Washington Heritage Register as well as the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
in 2018. The renovated venue has a capacity of 17,151 for ice hockey and 18,300 for basketball.
The arena is currently the home to the Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and began play during the league's 2021–22 season. ...
of the National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
(NHL), the Seattle Storm
The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...
of the Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...
(WNBA), the Seattle University Redhawks men's basketball team, and the Rat City Roller Derby
Rat City Roller Derby is a women's flat-track roller derby league in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2004 as Rat City Rollergirls, LLC, the league has incorporated alternative cultural influences, and has inspired and mentored other leagues. Rat C ...
league of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association
The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women's flat track roller derby, and association of leagues around the world. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Co ...
. It has also played host to the Pac-12 Conference
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
's women's basketball tournament.
The arena was previously most notable as the long-time former home of the Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conf ...
of the National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...
(NBA). The SuperSonics first played at the facility, then known as the Seattle Center Coliseum, from their founding in 1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...
to 1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government).
* January 6 – ...
. After a seven-season stint in the higher capacity Kingdome
The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District (later SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Owned and operated by King County, it was best known as the home s ...
, they returned to the arena in 1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
. The facility underwent an extensive renovation after the 1993–94 season, which necessitated the relocation of SuperSonics home games to the Tacoma Dome for the 1994–95 season, and it was renamed KeyArena after KeyCorp
KeyBank, the primary subsidiary of KeyCorp, is a regional bank headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and is the only major bank based in Cleveland. KeyBank is one of the largest banks in the United States.
Key's customer base spans retail, small ...
bought the naming rights in 1995. The SuperSonics left KeyArena in 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...
amid a controversial relocation to Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...
. The arena was also known for hosting minor professional hockey teams, first as home to the Seattle Totems
The Seattle Totems were a professional ice hockey franchise in Seattle, Washington. Under several names prior to 1958, the franchise was a member of the Pacific Coast Hockey League (renamed the Western Hockey League in 1952) between 1944 and ...
of the original Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...
and the Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...
from 1964 to 1975, followed by the Seattle Thunderbirds
The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington, south of Seattle. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. They play their games at home in a ...
of the current Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...
from 1989 to 2008.
The arena was the first publicly financed one in the area that was fully supported by earned income from the building. Arena finances were bolstered for several years by a payment following the settlement with the SuperSonics in 2008, but the lower level of activity and revenue during the time between the departure of the team and the arrival of the NHL left little reserve beyond basic building maintenance. The naming rights deal with KeyCorp concluded at the end of 2010, but the building maintained the KeyArena name until its 2018 closure. On June 25, 2020, Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
bought the naming rights to the arena. In a departure from usual corporate naming, Amazon dedicated the arena name to bringing attention to climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
. It also announced that the venue would be the first zero-carbon arena in the world, powered exclusively by renewable energy including both on-site and offsite solar, rather than the widespread standard use of natural gas found in other arenas.
History
Seattle Center Coliseum
The arena opened in 1962 as the Washington State Pavilion for the Century 21 Exposition
The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) was a world's fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington, United States.Paul Thiry. After the close of the Exposition, the Pavilion was purchased by the city of Seattle for $2.9 million and underwent an 18-month conversion into the Washington State Coliseum, one of the centerpieces of the new 
The Coliseum in this incarnation hosted two
Newly elected Seattle mayor 
With renewed interest on all sides, including the city council, the city spent $250,000 studying if it was even environmentally and engineeringly feasible to dig into the ground beneath the building. The plan proved possible and it was found that the compression ring holding the roof could be preserved, saving $15 million in cost and keeping the facility seismically sound against earthquakes. The original cable-suspended roof would be replaced by a conventional fixed roof with steel trusses that would preserve the well-known shape.
The project had an estimated cost of $73.4 million, considerably less than other new arenas of the time in Portland and Vancouver, to be paid with the city's bond capacity. A new kitchen and support building, a parking garage on 1st Avenue N, a new team store, and a tunnel connecting the store to the arena brought the total cost to nearly $127.3 million. New amenities would include 22 concession stands, 8 portable stands with vending in the seating, three private sports clubs, and a public sports bar and restaurant. Club-level seating with 1,100 seats would also offer exclusive club, concession, and lounge areas, and a private concourse with 58 luxury suites would also be added.
A mandate of the project was that no taxpayer funds could be used to pay for it. This brought concern from the Ackerleys, but after nearly a year of negotiations a revenue sharing plan was developed. The city and the team would split revenues from suites, concessions, and other items all within the arena to service the debt for the city and provide income to the team. The arena would be the first to finance itself by use of the arena. In May 1993, the city council voted 7-2 in favor of the deal with the Sonics signing a 15-year lease agreement and a guaranteed income of $7 million per year during the lease. The agreement was initially turned down in council committee in the hopes of negotiating a 20-year lease with an increased guaranteed income of $9 million per year starting in year 15. The Ackerleys declined these changes.
The Coliseum was rebuilt between 1994 and 1995, bringing the arena up to the NBA standards of the day. The local Seattle office of 
The remodeled arena maintained the architectural integrity of the original roofline by using the existing steel trusses in combination with four new main diagonal trusses. The wood, steel and concrete from the demolition was either reused in construction of the new arena or sold to recyclers. The original acoustical panels, the panels attached to the roof that keep the space from echoing, were refurbished and reused. The court was lowered below street level to allow for 3,000 more seats. The doors opened to the newly renovated arena on October 26, 1995. The sightlines, however, benefitted the SuperSonics at the expense of the junior Thunderbirds. The floor was just barely large enough to fit a regulation ice rink. Many seats in the lower level were so badly obstructed that almost half the lower level was curtained off for T-Birds games. The new scoreboard was significantly off-center in the ice hockey configuration, hanging over one blue line instead of the center-ice faceoff circle.
The first regular season game for the SuperSonics at the rechristened KeyArena was played on November 4,
In 2001, ownership of the
Seattle Center
Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington, United States. Spanning an area of 74 acres (30 ha), it was originally built for the 1962 World's Fair. Its landmark feature is the tall Space Need ...
on the former Exposition grounds. When the newly renovated Coliseum opened, the Seattle University men's basketball team became the arena's first major tenant. In 1964, the facility was renamed the Seattle Center Coliseum. That same year, the Seattle Totems moved into the Coliseum. The Coliseum became home to its most famous resident, the Seattle SuperSonics, beginning with their inaugural season in 1967 and remaining as host throughout most of the team's lifetime.
The Coliseum in this incarnation hosted two NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is aw ...
, in 1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government).
* January 6 – ...
and 1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
, both between the Washington Bullets
The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...
and SuperSonics. The Bullets won in 1978, prevailing in in Seattle. The Sonics retaliated the following year, winning in Game 5 on the Bullets' home court, thus capturing the franchise's only championship. Upon the opening of the new Kingdome
The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District (later SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Owned and operated by King County, it was best known as the home s ...
in 1976, which first hosted the NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...
's Seahawks and NASL's Sounders followed by MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
's expansion Mariners in 1977, the Sonics would begin playing a small number of home games at the stadium. For the championship 1978-79 season, the basketball club moved into the Kingdome full-time. They would call it home through the 1984-85 season, after which the team returned to the Coliseum. During those 7 years, the Sonics would occasionally play home playoff games at the Coliseum or Hec Edmundson Pavilion
Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion (formerly and still commonly referred to as Hec Edmundson Pavilion or simply Hec Ed) is an indoor arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designe ...
to not interfere with the Mariners' regular season home schedule. They would continue to play occasional games at the Kingdome through the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The arena hosted the NBA All-Star Game
The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, ...
once, in 1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...
; the 1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...
game had included NBA All-Star Saturday festivities on February 7, where former Sonics star "Downtown Freddie" Brown was the MVP of the legends game, Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...
star Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...
won the three-point contest
The Three-Point Contest is a National Basketball Association (NBA) contest held on the Saturday before the annual All-Star Game as part of All-Star Weekend.
The 2019 iteration of the contest involved ten participants. From its introduction in 19 ...
, and Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on Januar ...
star Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
won the slam-dunk competition. The NBA All-Star Game itself for 1987 in Seattle was held at the Kingdome
The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District (later SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Owned and operated by King County, it was best known as the home s ...
.
The arena hosted the basketball competitions of the Goodwill Games
The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other W ...
in 1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
.
In 1983, Barry Ackerley
Barry Allan Ackerley (April 15, 1934 – March 21, 2011) was an American businessman. He was the former chairman and CEO of the Ackerley Group media company. He was also the owner of the Seattle SuperSonics basketball franchise from 1983 to 2001 ...
, head of the Washington D.C.-based television, radio, and billboard company Ackerley Communications Inc.
The Ackerley Group was an American media company owned by Barry Ackerley that owned several television stations (mainly in New York, California, as well as one in Fairbanks) that was sold to Clear Channel Communications in 2001. In addition to own ...
, purchased the Sonics from long-time owner Sam Schulman
Samuel Schulman (April 10, 1910 – June 12, 2003) was an American businessman from New York who was a founding owner and President of the Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association and an owner of the San Diego Chargers of the ...
. In the mid-to-late 1980s, the team's on-court success would decline. This was coupled with a sub-par home court experience at the Coliseum, which included the NBA's lone rain delayed game on January 5, 1986 when rain water leaked from the roof onto the court as the Sonics played the Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division (NBA), P ...
. Timeouts were called so ball boy
Ball boys and ball girls, also known as ball kids are individuals, usually human youths but sometimes dogs, who retrieve and supply balls for players or officials in sports such as association football, American football, bandy, cricket, tennis ...
s armed with towels could do their best to wipe up the puddles, but even so, two players slipped and fell on the wet surface. Early in the second quarter, referee Mike Mathis
Mike Mathis is a former professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1976 to 2001. Over his career in the NBA, Mathis officiated nearly 2,340 games, including 12 NBA Finals and three NBA All-Star Games. Mathis ...
called the game with the Suns up by eleven points. The game was resumed from that point the following night, and Phoenix won .
Ackerley began exploring new options for an arena. Heavy relocation rumors began to circulate, amongst them a potential move to San Diego or possible sales to groups in other markets like Milwaukee or Toronto. In 2018, Ackerley's son Chris would say that the family was always committed to keeping the team in Seattle, and that " ..in each case, we stood on our principles that this is a Seattle community asset."
Potential replacement by arena in SoDo
In 1990, the Ackerleys talked about building an arena east of Lake Washington nearBellevue Square
Bellevue Square is a shopping center
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes ...
. They would eventually purchase land in the SoDo
Sodo ( am, ሶዶ) or Wolaita Sodo ( am, ወላይታ ሶዶ) or ( Wolaytatto: ''Wolayta Sodo Ambbaa'') is a city in south-central Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Wolaita Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation be ...
district near the Kingdome, some of which includes the site that would later become the Mariners' home, T-Mobile Park
T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the western ...
. Ackerley approached the city about a public contribution to the new arena, but the city was reluctant over fears the city-owned Coliseum would become obsolete. They offered to help finance a renovation of the Coliseum, but the team owner declined. To sweeten the offer, Ackerley sold city leaders on the idea that the new arena in SoDo could also attract a National Hockey League club. The city, along with Denver, had been conditionally granted an expansion NHL franchise in 1974 to begin play in the 1976-77 season. The NHL briefly flirted with relocating the Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have play ...
to Seattle (and the California Golden Seals
The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. T ...
to Denver) to address a troubled market and fill the expansion commitment, but ultimately kept the team there. Eventually, the Seattle franchise award was rescinded altogether when the potential ownership group was unable to secure the funds for the expansion fee.
In July 1990, the city council approved a deal for a privately owned $100 million facility to be built on the Ackerley land in SoDo, despite objections over traffic and parking by the Seahawks and Mariners in the neighboring Kingdome. The city's contribution would be to waive about $31 million in tax revenues (about $1 million per year) to potentially be collected on admissions fees at the new arena. It would also pay $2 million for street improvements around the proposed site, including a pedestrian walkway over South Royal Brougham Way. Ackerley also agreed to sign a 30-year lease for the Sonics and to build an 1,800-stall parking garage. Ackerley appeased the Seahawks' concerns, noting the arena would be empty during any NFL games. The Mariners unsuccessfully continued to object, even enlisting then-Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent
Francis Thomas Vincent Jr. (born May 29, 1938), known as Fay Vincent, is a former entertainment lawyer, securities regulator, and sports executive who served as the eighth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from September 13, 1989 to Septembe ...
and then-American League president Bobby Brown
Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...
to speak before the council ahead of their final vote.
During negotiations, Ackerley had asked for a provision to reduce the seating at the Coliseum by 9,000 seats so the older arena could not compete with the new building, but the city would not agree. Another selling point of the new arena were luxury suites, a means to attract corporate money and sponsorship that was then an emerging new revenue stream for sports team owners. Ackerley's financing and agreement with the city hinged on the ability to sell the 70 proposed luxury suites.
Ackerley also committed to submitting an expansion application to the NHL by a September 15, 1990 deadline as part of the arena deal. His son Bill would head the expansion effort, while a competing group led by Microsoft executive Chris Larson and former Seattle Totems player then coach Bill MacFarland
William H. MacFarland (April 4, 1932 – August 12, 2011) was an ice hockey player who played in college for the University of Michigan and professionally for the Seattle Totems of the Western Hockey League. He was inducted into the University of M ...
was preparing their own application. With the Ackerley application already submitted, the two groups would merge with Larson and MacFarland being primary points of contact with the NHL. Then owner of the Seattle Thunderbirds, Bill Yuill, also joined the group. Larson and MacFarland, along with Barry Ackerley and Bill Lear, Ackerley's financial advisor, were set to make a presentation to the NHL's Board of Governors on December 5, 1990. At the meeting, Ackerley and Lear asked to meet with the board first, promptly withdrew their application, and left. Larson and MacFarland were stunned to learn of the development but were unable to pursue any recourse as their names were never on the submitted application.
Thought to play a factor in Ackerley's decision were the significant demands by the NHL for an expansion team: a $50 million expansion fee that was more than any NHL club was valued at the time; a $5 million down payment that would be forfeited if 10,000 season tickets were not sold in the first year – the Sonics had never sold more than 9,000 season tickets; season tickets needed to produce at least $9 million annually, which would've made the tickets the second most expensive for a team in the area at the time; a 20-year lease with a "substantial" share of arena revenues from concessions, parking, and ad signage; priority status for postseason arena dates; and a secured $5 million line of credit in case the league had to take over ownership of the team at any point. Ackerley would not sacrifice Sonics revenues for a hockey team in which he would be a minority investor.
In June 1991, nearly a year after the city agreed to the arena deal, Ackerley announced that the project would not move forward. Increasing project costs, legal disputes, and inability to secure construction financing were cited as reasons to drop the project. Only around 30 of the 70 luxury suites were sold and the Ackerleys were unable to find a corporate buyer for naming rights. Ackerley Communications profits were down, which also contributed to the financing difficulties. A state Supreme Court case brought by Seattle Center employees challenged the constitutionality of the arena deal, while potential lawsuits from the Mariners and trade show organizers and possible legal challenges to environmental review of the project loomed.
Rebirth as KeyArena
Newly elected Seattle mayor Norm Rice
Norman Blann Rice (born May 4, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 49th mayor of Seattle, Washington, serving two terms from 1990 to 1997. Rice was Seattle's first elected African-American mayor.
Early life
Rice graduated from th ...
was concerned over a loss of concerts and events to cities with larger, more modern facilities, and the strong possibility the city could lose the Sonics. The mayor believed that sports unite a community and that Seattle Center would continue to serve as a valuable hub for tourism. At his insistence, a Center commission developed a plan to renovate the Coliseum by excavating the floor to lower it and build a new bowl with more seating. The Ackerleys turned down the renovation concept in favor of building their own arena in SoDo. Though the city preferred the renovation, they would reluctantly agree to the new arena plan. After the SoDo proposal fell through, the Ackerleys attempted to find other investors to no avail. Barry Ackerley would return to the city to ask if they would still consider renovating the Coliseum.
With renewed interest on all sides, including the city council, the city spent $250,000 studying if it was even environmentally and engineeringly feasible to dig into the ground beneath the building. The plan proved possible and it was found that the compression ring holding the roof could be preserved, saving $15 million in cost and keeping the facility seismically sound against earthquakes. The original cable-suspended roof would be replaced by a conventional fixed roof with steel trusses that would preserve the well-known shape.
The project had an estimated cost of $73.4 million, considerably less than other new arenas of the time in Portland and Vancouver, to be paid with the city's bond capacity. A new kitchen and support building, a parking garage on 1st Avenue N, a new team store, and a tunnel connecting the store to the arena brought the total cost to nearly $127.3 million. New amenities would include 22 concession stands, 8 portable stands with vending in the seating, three private sports clubs, and a public sports bar and restaurant. Club-level seating with 1,100 seats would also offer exclusive club, concession, and lounge areas, and a private concourse with 58 luxury suites would also be added.
A mandate of the project was that no taxpayer funds could be used to pay for it. This brought concern from the Ackerleys, but after nearly a year of negotiations a revenue sharing plan was developed. The city and the team would split revenues from suites, concessions, and other items all within the arena to service the debt for the city and provide income to the team. The arena would be the first to finance itself by use of the arena. In May 1993, the city council voted 7-2 in favor of the deal with the Sonics signing a 15-year lease agreement and a guaranteed income of $7 million per year during the lease. The agreement was initially turned down in council committee in the hopes of negotiating a 20-year lease with an increased guaranteed income of $9 million per year starting in year 15. The Ackerleys declined these changes.
The Coliseum was rebuilt between 1994 and 1995, bringing the arena up to the NBA standards of the day. The local Seattle office of NBBJ
NBBJ is an American global architecture, planning and design firm with offices in Boston, Columbus, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, Pune, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, and Washington, D.C..
NBBJ provides services in arch ...
, the second largest architectural firm in the country, was chosen as the architects. In an unusual move, the Coliseum would be closed for a year during the renovation. Construction began on June 16, 1994. During the 1994–95 season, the SuperSonics played their home games at the multi-purpose Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, about south.
On April 11, 1995, the city sold the naming rights to Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...
-based KeyCorp, the parent of KeyBank
KeyBank, the primary subsidiary of KeyCorp, is a regional bank headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and is the only major bank based in Cleveland. KeyBank is one of the largest banks in the United States.
Key's customer base spans retail, small b ...
, which renamed the Coliseum as KeyArena. The renovation cost the city of Seattle $74.5 million and the SuperSonics approximately $21 million. The naming rights cost KeyCorp $15.1 million.
The remodeled arena maintained the architectural integrity of the original roofline by using the existing steel trusses in combination with four new main diagonal trusses. The wood, steel and concrete from the demolition was either reused in construction of the new arena or sold to recyclers. The original acoustical panels, the panels attached to the roof that keep the space from echoing, were refurbished and reused. The court was lowered below street level to allow for 3,000 more seats. The doors opened to the newly renovated arena on October 26, 1995. The sightlines, however, benefitted the SuperSonics at the expense of the junior Thunderbirds. The floor was just barely large enough to fit a regulation ice rink. Many seats in the lower level were so badly obstructed that almost half the lower level was curtained off for T-Birds games. The new scoreboard was significantly off-center in the ice hockey configuration, hanging over one blue line instead of the center-ice faceoff circle.
The first regular season game for the SuperSonics at the rechristened KeyArena was played on November 4, 1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...
, against the Los Angeles Lakers. The renovated arena hosted the 1996 NBA Finals
The 1996 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1995–96 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics (64–18) played the Eastern Co ...
in its first season, when the SuperSonics lost to the Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on Januar ...
in six games.
Seattle SuperSonics relocation controversy
In 2001, ownership of the Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conf ...
(who had called KeyArena home on-and-off since their establishment in 1967) transferred from Barry Ackerley to Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 ...
CEO Howard Schultz
Howard D. Schultz (born July 19, 1953) is an American businessman and author who served as both chairman and CEO of Starbucks from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017, and as interim CEO since 2022. Schultz also owned the Seattle SuperSonics basket ...
. Schultz claimed that in the five years he owned the SuperSonics, the team suffered heavy financial losses, which led him to seek funding from the Washington State Legislature for a newer, more modern arena. After failing to reach an agreement with the city of Seattle over a publicly funded $220 million expansion of KeyArena, the Basketball Club of Seattle, led by Schultz, put the SuperSonics and its sister team, the WNBA's Seattle Storm
The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...
up for sale. After failing to find a local ownership group to sell the team to, Schultz talked to ownership groups from Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
, St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...
, San Jose and Anaheim
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-mos ...
before agreeing to sell the team on July 18, 2006 to an ownership group from Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...
, who was pursuing an NBA franchise after hosting the New Orleans Hornets
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
franchise successfully for two seasons as the city of New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Hurricane Katrina. The sale to Clay Bennett's ownership group,
In October 2016, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced that the city would seek proposals to redevelop KeyArena into an NBA and NHL ready venue, issuing a full request for proposal in January. This came after the rejection of the new arena proposed in 
On September 25, 2018, the proposed $700 million renovation of KeyArena was approved unanimously by the Seattle City Council and signed into legislation by mayor The
RinkAtlas listing for New Arena at Seattle Center
{{Navboxes, list1= {{s-start-collapsible, header={{s-sta, et {{Succession box , before = first arena , title = Home of the
2022–present , after =
current {{Succession box , before = first arena
Tacoma Dome , title = Home of the
1985–1994
1995–2008 , after = The Kingdome
Tacoma Dome
(as
1995–2008 , after =
Professional Basketball Club LLC
Professional Basketball Club LLC is an investment group headed by Clay Bennett that owns the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Oklahoma City Thunder franchise (formerly the Seattle SuperSonics) and the Thunder's NBA G League affiliate Okla ...
(PBC) for $350 million was approved by NBA owners on October 24, 2006. Terms of the sale required the new ownership group to "use good faith best efforts" for a term of 12 months in securing a new arena lease or venue in the Seattle metropolitan area
The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding satellites and suburbs. It contains the three most populous counties in the state—King, Snohomish, and Pierc ...
.
In 2006, 74% of voters in Seattle voted to pass Initiative 91, a measure that prohibited use of tax dollars on arena projects in the city unless it could be shown the city would turn a profit on their investment. The limitation of tax dollars that could be spent on the arena, combined with earlier losses under recent ownership groups, "likely doomed the Sonics' future in the city".
On February 12, 2007, Bennett proposed using tax money to pay for a new $500 million arena in Renton, a suburb of Seattle. After failing to reach a deal by the end of the legislative session, Bennett gave up his attempt in April 2007. On November 2, 2007, the team announced it would move to Oklahoma City as soon as it could get out of its KeyArena lease. Seattle's mayor, Greg Nickels
Gregory J. Nickels (born August 7, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 51st mayor of Seattle, Washington. He took office on January 1, 2002 and was reelected to a second term in 2005. In August 2009, Nickels finished third in the p ...
, maintained a stance that the Sonics were expected to stay in Seattle until their lease expired in 2010 and said the city did not intend to make it easy for Bennett to move the team early. Over concerns the city would accept a buyout of the lease, a grassroots group filed a citywide initiative that sought to prevent the city from accepting such an offer from Bennett's group. Seattle City Council later unanimously passed an ordinance modeled after the initiative. On August 13, 2007, Aubrey McClendon
Aubrey Kerr McClendon (July 14, 1959 – March 2, 2016) was an American businessman and the founder and chief executive officer of American Energy Partners, LP. He also co-founded Chesapeake Energy, serving as its CEO and chairman. He was an ou ...
, a minor partner of Bennett's ownership group, said in an interview with ''The Journal Record
''The Journal Record'' is a daily business and legal newspaper based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Its offices are in downtown Oklahoma City, with a bureau at the Oklahoma State Capitol.
''The Journal Record'' began publication in 1937, though an ...
'' (an Oklahoma City newspaper) that the team was not purchased to keep it in Seattle but to relocate it to Oklahoma City. Bennett later denied such intentions, saying McClendon "was not speaking on behalf of the ownership group". Due to his comments, McClendon was fined $250,000 by the NBA.
On October 31, 2007, Bennett informed NBA commissioner David Stern
David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of ...
that the ownership group intended to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City as soon as it was legally possible. The timing of the announcement, one day after the Sonics' home opener, drew critical comments from Tom Carr, Seattle's attorney, who said "Mr. Bennett's announcement today is a transparent attempt to alienate the Seattle fan base and follow through on his plan to move the team to Oklahoma City ... Making this move now continues the current ownership's insulting behavior toward the Sonics' dedicated fans and the citizens of the city." Bennett also reiterated that the team was not for sale and dismissed attempts by local groups to repurchase the team.
On September 23, 2007, the City of Seattle filed a lawsuit in an attempt to keep the Sonics from leaving before the end of their lease in 2010. In the midst of the lawsuit, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
Steven Anthony Ballmer (; March 24, 1956) is an American business magnate and investor who served as the chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Assoc ...
offered to pay half of a $300 million renovation of KeyArena; the rest to be provided by the city and county. However, when the state legislature did not give approval for the county to provide funds by an April 10 deadline, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said that the effort had failed and the city's hopes rested in its lawsuit.
The last SuperSonics game played at KeyArena was on April 13, 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...
, a 99–95 win over the Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...
.
The NBA Board of Governors approved the relocation of the Sonics on April 18, 2008.
On June 16, 2008, the grassroots organization "Save Our Sonics" organized a well-publicized rally, which reportedly drew over 3,000 participants, at the U.S. District Courthouse in Seattle to protest the proposed relocation of the team. The rally was held on the first day of the city of Seattle's lawsuit against the PBC to enforce the remaining two years on the KeyArena lease.
On July 2, 2008, two hours before a ruling in the city's lawsuit was to be given, it was announced that the team and the city had reached a settlement where PBC would pay the city $45 million immediately in exchange for breaking the lease, and an additional $30 million if Seattle was not given a replacement team in five years. According to the conditions of the settlement, the Sonics' name and colors could not be used by the team in Oklahoma City, but could be taken by a future team in Seattle, although no promises for a replacement team were given. The Oklahoma City team would retain the franchise history of the SuperSonics, which could be "shared" with any future NBA team in Seattle. The team moved to Oklahoma City immediately and announced it would begin play in the 2008–09 season.
KeyArena after the Sonics
Once KeyArena lost the SuperSonics and the Thunderbirds, there was speculation that KeyBank may try to amend the naming rights deal. In March 2009, the city and KeyCorp signed a new deal for a two-year term ending December 31, 2010, at an annual fee of $300,000. In 2009, theSeattle University
Seattle University (SeattleU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington. Seattle University is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate p ...
Redhawks men's basketball team began playing their home games at KeyArena for the first time since 1980. In February 2009, the Seattle City Council
The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-l ...
approved a new 10-year lease that would keep the WNBA's Storm at KeyArena.
In 2009, the arena hosted the WWE No Way Out
WWE No Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. It was first held as the 20th In Your House PPV in February 1998 and was titled No Way Out of Texas: In ...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...
event. The WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
returned on March 9, 2010 to tape the March 9 episode of '' NXT'' and March 12 episode of ''SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes si ...
''. They would return a year later to host the WWE Over the Limit pay-per-view on May 22, 2011. In April 2011, the Professional Bull Riders
The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. In the U.S., PBR events have been televised on CBS and CBS Sports Network since 2012. In 2013, th ...
brought the Built Ford Tough Series
The Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) was the elite series tour name of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) competitions from 2003 to 2017.
The BFTS kicked off its tour on November 16, 2002 with the Mohegan Sun Invitational in Uncasville, Connecticut ...
to KeyArena for the first time.
Between June 28 and 30, 2011, the arena hosted the Seattle audition stages in the first season of the Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelv ...
singer search program ''The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
''.
On January 21, 2011, Seattle Center announced that KeyCorp would not renew its agreement for naming rights of KeyArena, after 15 years of sponsorship. However, the venue retained the KeyArena name until its redevelopment, despite the fact that the naming right had expired.
In January 2012, ESPN.com
ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc.
History
Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including: ...
reporter Scott Burnside said KeyArena "would be entirely acceptable", as a temporary venue for a NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
franchise, depending on a future arena plan. The Phoenix Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mu ...
were often speculated to be a likely candidate for relocation and in June 2013, reports circulated that if the NHL could not negotiate a new lease for the Coyotes with the city of Glendale, Arizona
Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325.
History
In the late 1800s the area that is now Glendale was all deser ...
by July 2, the league would sell the team to a private investment group which would then be given permission to relocate the team to Seattle prior to the 2013–2014 season and use KeyArena as a temporary home. On July 2, the city of Glendale, Arizona approved a new lease for the Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena, and soon after, the NHL approved the sale of the Coyotes to an investment group that would keep the Coyotes in the Phoenix area, eliminating the possibility that the Coyotes could move to Seattle.
Conversely, in February 2012, SB Nation
''SB Nation'' (an abbreviation for their full name ''SportsBlogs Nation'') is a sports blogging network owned by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Tyler Bleszinski, Markos Moulitsas, and Jerome Armstrong in 2005. The blog from which the networ ...
columnist Travis Hughes said that while it made "too much sense" for the NHL not to put a team in Seattle in the future, KeyArena was completely unsuitable even as a temporary facility due to the same problems with sight lines that ultimately forced the Thunderbirds to move out. Hughes wrote that even one year of NHL hockey in an arena where half the lower bowl sat unused would be "just unacceptable." He argued that the situation would be even worse than what the Coyotes faced at America West Arena
Footprint Center (formerly known as America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena and Phoenix Suns Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
Built in the regional population center of the southwestern United Sta ...
, their original home in Phoenix. When the Coyotes played there from 1996 to 2003, they had to deal with seats where part of the ice could not be seen at all, forcing them to curtain off several thousand seats in the upper level.
League officials later hinted that a new arena would have to be in place before a new or relocated NHL team came to Seattle. During the 2012 All-Star Weekend, Bettman said that while Seattle was a good fit for the NHL, "there's no building." Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly
William "Bill" L. Daly III (born May 1, 1964) is an American attorney and the current deputy commissioner and chief legal officer of the National Hockey League (NHL) under Commissioner Gary Bettman. He is also a Hockey Hall of Fame board mem ...
said that KeyArena would be "a difficult arena for hockey" due to the large number of obstructed-view seats.
In February 2012, KING 5
KING-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Everett-licensed independent station KONG (channel 16). Both stations share studios at the Home Plate C ...
reporter Chris Daniels said an NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United ...
team could also use KeyArena as a temporary home.
In July 2012, at a public town hall meeting debating Chris Hansen's proposed NBA/NHL arena in downtown Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, anti-arena proponents wanted to "re-explore" using KeyArena instead of the proposed site downtown.
Starting in 2014, American video game developer
A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a larg ...
Valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fitting ...
began hosting The International ''Dota 2
''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to '' Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota ...
'' eSports tournaments at the venue, which have since featured prize pools of over $20 million.
KeyArena hosted early rounds of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams fro ...
in 1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...
and 2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
.
On September 16, 2016, the arena hosted the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions.
Roger Federer
Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
organized a tennis exhibition match at KeyArena with Match for Africa 4, held on April 29, 2017. Two matches were played, the first a doubles match pitting Roger Federer and Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
against John Isner
John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
Considered one of the best servers ...
and Mike McCready
Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. McCready ...
of Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, ...
, and a singles match featuring Federer and Isner. More than $2 million was raised for the Roger Federer Foundation from the match's proceeds.
On October 5, 2018, the Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
played against the Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
in a preseason game at KeyArena, the same arena where Kevin Durant
Kevin Wayne Durant ( ; born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for t ...
played previously with the Sonics. The game was mostly played to celebrate its moments with the NBA and ended up being its final event as the KeyArena before the arena closed down for redevelopment.
Redevelopment into Climate Pledge Arena
In October 2016, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced that the city would seek proposals to redevelop KeyArena into an NBA and NHL ready venue, issuing a full request for proposal in January. This came after the rejection of the new arena proposed in SoDo
Sodo ( am, ሶዶ) or Wolaita Sodo ( am, ወላይታ ሶዶ) or ( Wolaytatto: ''Wolayta Sodo Ambbaa'') is a city in south-central Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Wolaita Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation be ...
by Seattle City Council over the street vacation A street vacation, also known as an alley vacation or vacation of public access, is a type of easement in which a government transfers the right-of-way of a public street, highway or alley to a private property owner. The process, which varies betwe ...
of Occidental Avenue.
Two groups, Seattle Partners (led by AEG
Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG; ) was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in Berlin as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität'' in 1883 by Emil Rathenau. During the Second World War, A ...
and Hudson Pacific Properties) and the Oak View Group
OVG Oak View Group, LLC is an American Global Advisory, Development and Investment Company for Sports and Live Entertainment industries. Based in Los Angeles, it was formed on November 16, 2015 by Tim Leiweke and his business partner, Irving Azoff ...
(led by former AEG CEO Tim Leiweke
Timothy J. Leiweke (born April 21, 1957) is an American sports executive who is the chief executive officer of the Oak View Group. Leiweke was the former president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) and former President and CEO of ...
), submitted proposals to the city in April 2017 to redevelop the arena, also securing corporate partnerships and seeking the support of the NHL. Both groups were required to submit an additional proposal to preserve the arena's iconic roof, which the city planned to submit for municipal landmark status. AEG unveiled a $520 million proposal that would extend the iconic roofline over presently underutilized space on the arena's south end. Oak View Group submitted a $564 million proposal that would lower the arena's bowl within the existing roof structure. On June 7, 2017, the city selected OVG as the preferred bidder for the redevelopment. The landmark status of the arena's exterior, including the roof, was approved by a city-appointed landmarks preservation board on August 2, 2017; the exterior was subsequently listed on the Washington Heritage Register on March 8, 2018, and on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
on May 10.
On December 4, 2017, the city council approved a memorandum of understanding with OVG to rebuild the arena by 2020. The approval came days after the previous memorandum with the SODO Arena had expired. Four days after the approval of the MOU, the NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
gave the Oak View Group approval to submit an application for an expansion franchise in Seattle. The arena would be closed for two years, and the last remaining professional sports team tenant, the WNBA's Seattle Storm, plans to move elsewhere in the Seattle metropolitan area during those two years. The team played its usual summer schedule at KeyArena in 2018, beginning in mid-May and continuing through the playoffs in early September; they ultimately won the 2018 WNBA Finals
The 2018 WNBA Finals was the best-of-five championship series for the 2018 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). It featured the top-seeded Seattle Storm and the three-seeded Washington Mystics. The series began on Septemb ...
. During the renovation, the Storm played most of their home games at the Alaska Airlines Arena on the campus of the University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...
, with other games at Angel of the Winds Arena
Angel of the Winds Arena (originally known as Everett Events Center) is a multi-purpose complex in Everett, Washington, United States, designed and developed by the Everett Public Facilities District. It opened in October 2003, with the naming ...
in Everett.
On September 25, 2018, the proposed $700 million renovation of KeyArena was approved unanimously by the Seattle City Council and signed into legislation by mayor The NHL Board of Governors
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professiona ...
voted to approve an expansion team for Seattle on December 4, 2018. Redevelopment commenced the next day on December 5. In mid-December 2018, OVG announced that overall project costs had increased to between $825 and $850 million. Although some design changes and additions had contributed to the increase in cost, OVG replaced the general contractor, Skanska
Skanska AB () is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden. Skanska is the fifth-largest construction company in the world according to ''Construction Global'' magazine. Notable Skanska projects include renovation of t ...
Hunt
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
, with Mortenson Construction.
With the closing of the arena in October 2018 to begin redevelopment, the City of Seattle, Seattle Center, and Oak View Group retired the KeyArena name and officially adopted Seattle Center Arena as the name for the project. It was alternately referred to as the New Arena at Seattle Center. In February 2018, it was reported that six interested parties had approached OVG regarding naming rights for the new arena. Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the nu ...
was announced as the naming sponsor of the south atrium in January 2020. On June 25, 2020, Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
purchased the naming rights; the arena would be branded as Climate Pledge Arena to promote Amazon's partnership with the environmental advocacy group Global Optimism and its "Climate Pledge", under which the company (and by extension the arena) vowed to make the entirety of its operations carbon neutral
Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the " ...
. The rooftop signage for KeyArena was removed by a helicopter on July 8, 2020. The replacement signage was installed on December 5, 2020.
During redevelopment, the arena's existing roof was "detached from 20 original concrete Y-columns and four gigantic buttresses that previously supported it", being held up by "72 temporary steel columns, cross-beams and a steel reinforcement structure called a kickstand.” 600,000 cubic yards of dirt were removed during the excavation of the arena bowl, and the structure was then built upwards to connect with the roof.
Climate Pledge Arena was opened to the public on October 19, 2021, by a Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the Foo Fighters (album), epony ...
and Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyb ...
concert for local charities. The first scheduled event, a sold-out Coldplay
Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey (manager), Phil H ...
concert, took place three days later on the 22nd. The first sports event at the renovated arena, a Seattle Kraken regular season game, took place on October 23 against the Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
. Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn
Vince Dunn (born October 29, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL).
A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Dunn began his minor hockey career with the C ...
scored the first NHL goal in the arena and the game ended in a 4–2 Kraken loss to the Canucks. The first Kraken win at the arena was on October 26, a 5-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
. On May 6, 2022, the Seattle Storm played their first game at the redeveloped arena against the Minnesota Lynx
The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017.
Founded ...
, winning 97-74. For the first two months of the 2022-23 AHL season
The hyphen-minus is the most commonly used type of hyphen, widely used in digital documents. It is the only character that looks like a minus sign or a dash in many character sets such as ASCII or on most keyboards, so it is also used as s ...
, the Climate Pledge Arena will host the Coachella Valley Firebirds
The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey expansion team based in Thousand Palms, California, that began play in the 2022–23 American Hockey League (AHL) season. The team is an owned-and-operated affiliate of the Seattle Kra ...
, the American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
affiliate of the Kraken, until their arena, Acrisure Arena
Acrisure Arena is a multi-purpose 10,000-seat indoor arena in the unincorporated community of Thousand Palms in Riverside County, California's, Coachella Valley Palm Springs Area. The arena broke ground on June 2, 2021, on of land near the ci ...
in Palm Springs is completed.
Concerts
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
performed at the arena twice, first on August 21, 1964.
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
performed at the arena on November 12, 1970 and April 26, 1976.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
has performed at the arena four times. He and the E Street Band
The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...
performed a nearly four-hour long concert during The River Tour 2016
The River Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in support of Springsteen's 2015 '' The Ties That Bind: The River Collection'' box set and in celebration of the 35th anniversary of Springsteen's 1980 album, '' Th ...
on March 24, 2016. It included a guest appearance by Eddie Vedder
Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the Rock music, rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest ...
.
In December 2013, Macklemore
Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; (formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper and songwriter. A native of Seattle, Washington, he has collaborated with producer Ryan Lew ...
and Ryan Lewis
Ryan Scott Lewis (born March 25, 1988) is an American record producer, DJ, videographer, photographer, graphic designer, music video director, rapper, and songwriter. Along with producing his own album, ''Instrumentals'', Lewis produced the alb ...
became the first Seattle-based act ever to play three consecutive sold-out shows at KeyArena when the duo concluded their 2013 World Tour in support of their album The Heist.
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the Foo Fighters (album), epony ...
and Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyb ...
performed at the first event in Climate Pledge Arena after its renovation on October 19, 2021.
Seating capacity
In its initial configuration, the arena had aseating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile th ...
of 13,200 for basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
games, 12,250 for ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...
games, 16,000 for meetings, and 14,770 for boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
matches. Minor expansion occurred as the SuperSonics grew in popularity, but the design of the arena limited its expansion potential; calls for its renovation occurred as early as 1976.
In 1977, Seattle voters passed a bond measure to make improvements to Seattle Center. Permanent ticketing areas were added to the arena eliminating the portable ticket booths that were in use since The Seattle World's Fair. In 1983, the original seats were replaced while improvements were made to the concourses to compete for concerts after the Tacoma Dome opened.
With the 1995 renovation, the arena's capacity was expanded to 17,072 for basketball, 15,177 for ice hockey and ice shows, 16,641 for end-stage concerts, and 17,459 for center-stage concerts and boxing. Risers held 7,440 on the upper level and up to 7,741 on the lower level, with luxury suites
The luxury box (or skybox) and club seating constitute the most exclusive class of seating in arenas and stadiums, and generate much higher revenues than regular seating. Club ticketholders often receive exclusive access to an indoor part of t ...
adding another 1,160 seats. However, the ice hockey capacity was reduced to 10,442 when obstructed seats were removed.
The redeveloped arena features a new interior and entrance atrium while retaining the existing roof and three exterior walls. It seats 18,300 for basketball, 17,151 for ice hockey (as well as arena football, box lacrosse, indoor soccer, and ice shows), and 17,200 for concerts.
The seating capacity for basketball and hockey are as follows:
Features and amenities
The post-renovation Climate Pledge Arena is and has 17,100 seats in its hockey configuration, with higher capacities for other events. Most of the lower level seats are subterranean, while the concourse and main south entrance at the Alaska Airlines Atrium are near ground level. The arena has several food vendors that use Amazon One for contactless payments. The arena has a pair of six-sided ceilingscoreboard
A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used ...
s in lieu of the traditional single, center-hung scoreboard used in other indoor arenas. They were designed to not interfere with sightlines and are also positioned higher than other NHL scoreboards.
Concurrent with the announcement that the arena would be named Climate Pledge Arena, it was stated that the venue would aim to receive a net-zero
Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the " ...
certification by pledging to have all events be "zero-waste" (through use of compostable containers and reduction of single-use plastic), use captured rainwater for its ice surface, and source at least 75% of food served at the arena from local producers.
Transportation
Climate Pledge Arena is located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, which is served byKing County Metro
King County Metro, officially the King County Metro Transit Department and often shortened to Metro, is the public transit authority of King County, Washington, which includes the city of Seattle. It is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in t ...
bus service from surrounding areas, including Queen Anne Hill
Queen Anne is a neighborhood and geographic feature in Seattle, Washington, United States, located northwest of downtown. The affluent neighborhood sits on the eponymous hill, whose maximum elevation is , making it Seattle's highest named hill. ...
and Downtown Seattle
Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west b ...
. The RapidRide D Line
The D Line is one of seven RapidRide lines (routes with some bus rapid transit features) operated by King County Metro in King County, Washington. The D Line began service on September 29, 2012, running between Carkeek Park in Crown Hill, B ...
and other routes provide frequent service between the arena's west side and Downtown Seattle. Route 8 connects the neighborhood to Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...
and the Central District.
The Seattle Center Monorail
The Seattle Center Monorail is an elevated straddle-beam monorail line in Seattle, Washington, United States. The monorail runs along 5th Avenue between Seattle Center and Westlake Center in Downtown Seattle, making no intermediate stops. ...
also serves the arena, connecting it to Westlake Center
Westlake Center is a four-story shopping center and 25-story office tower in downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. The southern terminus of the Seattle Center Monorail, it is located across Pine Street from Westlake Park, between 4th and ...
and the Westlake light rail station in downtown, and runs higher frequency service during events.
Climate Pledge Arena is served by three public parking garages, with a total capacity of 2,944 vehicles, located in and around the Seattle Center. Additional neighborhood parking lots and on-street parking spaces bring the total number of spaces up to 7,400 stalls. The arena is located near the Mercer Street exit on Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Calif ...
, as well as State Route 99
International
* European route E99
Australia
* Springbrook Road, Queensland
Canada
* British Columbia Highway 99
* Ontario Highway 99 (former)
* Saskatchewan Highway 99
China
* G99 Expressway
India
* National Highway 99 (India)
I ...
.
Link light rail
Link light rail is a light rail rapid transit system serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is managed by Sound Transit in partnership with local transit providers, and consists of two non-connected lines: ...
service to the Seattle Center and Climate Pledge Arena is planned to begin in 2035, as part of the Ballard–Downtown extension.
See also
*List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby uni ...
References
External links
*RinkAtlas listing for New Arena at Seattle Center
{{Navboxes, list1= {{s-start-collapsible, header={{s-sta, et {{Succession box , before = first arena , title = Home of the
Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and began play during the league's 2021–22 season. ...
, years = 2021–present , after = current
{{Succession box , before = first arenaAlaska Airlines Arena
Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion (formerly and still commonly referred to as Hec Edmundson Pavilion or simply Hec Ed) is an indoor arena in the northwest United States, on the campus of the University of Washington in ...
/ Angel of the Winds Arena
Angel of the Winds Arena (originally known as Everett Events Center) is a multi-purpose complex in Everett, Washington, United States, designed and developed by the Everett Public Facilities District. It opened in October 2003, with the naming ...
, title = Home of theSeattle Storm
The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...
, years = 2000–20182022–present , after =
Alaska Airlines Arena
Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion (formerly and still commonly referred to as Hec Edmundson Pavilion or simply Hec Ed) is an indoor arena in the northwest United States, on the campus of the University of Washington in ...
/ Angel of the Winds Arena
Angel of the Winds Arena (originally known as Everett Events Center) is a multi-purpose complex in Everett, Washington, United States, designed and developed by the Everett Public Facilities District. It opened in October 2003, with the naming ...
current {{Succession box , before = first arena
The Kingdome
The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District (later SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Owned and operated by King County, it was best known as the home ...
Tacoma Dome , title = Home of the
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conf ...
, years = 1967–19781985–1994
1995–2008 , after = The Kingdome
Tacoma Dome
Chesapeake Energy Arena
Paycom Center (originally known as the Ford Center from 2002 to 2010, Oklahoma City Arena from 2010 to 2011, and Chesapeake Energy Arena from 2011 to 2021) is an arena located in Downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. It opened in 2 ...
(as
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...
)
{{Succession box , before = Kamloops Memorial Arena
The Kamloops Memorial Arena is an ice hockey arena built in 1948 in Kamloops, British Columbia. It hosted the Western Hockey League teams including the Kamloops Chiefs, Kamloops Junior Oilers and, most notably, the Kamloops Blazers. It was replace ...
, title = Home of theSeattle Thunderbirds
The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington, south of Seattle. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. They play their games at home in a ...
, years = 1977–1994 (with Mercer Arena
Mercer Arena (previously known as the Exposition Building, Civic Ice Arena and Seattle Center Arena) was a performing arts venue located at the corner of Mercer Street and Fourth Avenue North in Seattle, Washington. It was built in 1927 adjacent ...
)1995–2008 , after =
ShoWare Center
The accesso ShoWare Center is a multi-purpose arena in Kent, Washington, United States.
About the venue
The construction of the arena began September 2005, with the venue opening in January 2009. The principal tenants are the Seattle Thunderbi ...
{{Succession box , before = first arena , title = Home of theSeattle SeaDogs
The Seattle SeaDogs are a defunct indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) from 1995 to 1997. They won the last CISL championship in 1997.
History
In 1995, the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) awarded a ...
, years = 1995–1997 , after = last arena
{{Succession box , before = Chicago Stadium
Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1929, closed in 1994 and was demolished in 1995. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls.
...
, title = Host of theNBA All-Star Game
The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, ...
, years = 1974 , after = Veterans Memorial Coliseum
{{s-end
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