Quote:
Originally Posted by slcrocket
The Tacoma Dome, while not an ideal venue, can reportedly seat around 15k-17k for hockey. It would work in the interim.
Can Seattle support five sports? I have the same question. Football is a lock as it is king...the Mariners are also a lock since there is enough history and baseball's profitability model doesn't force teams to sell out the majority of their games. The Sonics, given the right arena, would be fine as well as there is enough history and fan base to keep things going (even in the waning lame duck years, I recall that attendance was not a big issue).
So then you've got the Sounders and the NHL franchise. MLSer's are kind of a fringe group but, as previously mentioned, numerous enough to keep things going. Since the NHL season happens at roughly the same time as the NBA, I have some concerns that people will use their disposable income for something they knew and grew up with. However, the minor league hockey teams (Silvertips and Thunderbirds) still garner a lot of interest, and it's surprising how many Western Washington residents drive up to Vancouver because it's the closest venue. I think that the NHL would need a hell of a good marketing effort in its initial years in Seattle to survive, but I think it could.
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The Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon seats over 15000 for hockey and has luxury boxes. While not as new as the Mts Centre it has similar number of seats and luxury boxes. If no buyer and league owns it at the end of the season move them there and see if the team can be profitable similar to a probationary period. If not oh well they can move to another location but can't see them losing as much money in Stone than in Phx.