Seattle investor has plans to build downtown arena

[valo403]

Originally Posted by The Original FFIV

Fair point on the nfl tv contract - more revenue sharing helps the Packers. But how far is Milwaukee from Chicago? Close enough that the Wirtz's got their shirt in a knot when Milwaukee was considered an expansion candidate. Could be that Milwaukee helps support the Bears as the well as the Packers.

No doubt Milwaukee helps Green Bay but so does the upper Peninsula of Michigan.

People in Milwaukee do not support the Bears, insinuating that will get you in a fight. And the UP, really? It's a sparsely populated area that would have very little impact on attendance in Green Bay.

It's funny how people always want to point at Green Bay as if it's a comparable example. There are virtually no parallels beyond the population of the immediate area. The economics of the league, the structure of the schedule, the surrounding area etc. etc. etc. are all completely different. But yes, let's point at Green bay and pretend we have made an argument.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

I don't understand how anyone can argue that Saskatoon deserves an NHL team when only two years ago they had the World Juniors and the only games they sold out were the Gold Medal Game and Canada/USA on New Year's Eve.

If you can't sell out WJC semis, how can you possibly sell out Saskatoon vs. Nashville on a Monday night?

[tomo]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

The problem with Bellevue is it is on the wrong side of the lake and so can only be reached by a couple of bridges, Seattle traffic is a gong show at the best of times Bellevue would be to Seattle what Glendale is to Phoenix

No, it's nothing like Glendale / Phoenix. I live further East than Bellevue (in Redmond) and I can get into Seattle in 15/20 minutes.

You can get to the location they are talking about this week from Seattle by two bridges (520 & 90), or you can also get to it by the 405 freeway from the North (Everett) and from the South (Renton)

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by tomo

No, it's nothing like Glendale / Phoenix. I live further East than Bellevue (in Redmond) and I can get into Seattle in 15/20 minutes.

You can get to the location they are talking about this week from Seattle by two bridges (520 & 90), or you can also get to it by the 405 freeway from the North (Everett) and from the South (Renton)

You know as well as I Seattle traffic is a constant gong show and while you can get over the lake in 15 to 20 minutes it can also take an hour if some schmoe rear ends someone, if you want people in the business community to attend a game you keep the arena downtown and they go for dinner after work then walk to the game followed by a cocktail or beer after in the downtown, shove it in Bellevue and it is no nearer to anyone and it sits in an entertainment wasteland (Glendale), the best thing about Seattle is the centralised nature of its entertainment district, it may take hours to plow down the through the I.5 but at least once you get there you can dump the car and reach everything pretty well on foot.

[tomo]

But with 60% of season ticket holders for the Sonics living on the Eastside, Bellveue has a pretty strong argument about having the arena based off the 405


http://mynorthwest.com/422/624296/So...than-suggested

[seattleflamer]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

You know as well as I Seattle traffic is a constant gong show and while you can get over the lake in 15 to 20 minutes it can also take an hour if some schmoe rear ends someone, if you want people in the business community to attend a game you keep the arena downtown and they go for dinner after work then walk to the game followed by a cocktail or beer after in the downtown, shove it in Bellevue and it is no nearer to anyone and it sits in an entertainment wasteland (Glendale), the best thing about Seattle is the centralised nature of its entertainment district, it may take hours to plow down the through the I.5 but at least once you get there you can dump the car and reach everything pretty well on foot.

I can't find the article but I believe >60% of Sonic season ticket holders were from the Eastside. Bellevue is as central as SODO for car traffic purposes.

The argument for SODO is you have a nice public transit hub with light rail, ferries and the commuter trains in vicinity.

The S curves and I-90 are just ridiculous now with the new toll on 520. I went night skiing at Snoqualmie last week and I couldn't believe how many people were avoiding 520 and willing to wait to cross at 90.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by tomo

But with 60% of season ticket holders for the Sonics living on the Eastside, Bellveue has a pretty strong argument about having the arena based off the 405


http://mynorthwest.com/422/624296/So...than-suggested

Similar situation to Detroit with the Palace being built out in Auburn Hills. The big difference is that Seattle actually has a large downtown area, whereas Detroit is fairly spread out with a number of business districts.

So I guess the question is, would those people who live in Bellevue prefer to go to games from their offices and then head home, or have a short trip after the game? Weekend games are obviously a different story, but those games also typically don't have the same issues with traffic etc. Personally I much prefer the central arena as it's much easier to make going to a game an event with dinner and drinks etc.

[saskflames69]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

I don't understand how anyone can argue that Saskatoon deserves an NHL team when only two years ago they had the World Juniors and the only games they sold out were the Gold Medal Game and Canada/USA on New Year's Eve.

If you can't sell out WJC semis, how can you possibly sell out Saskatoon vs. Nashville on a Monday night?

Nobody wanted to see Switzerland get mauled by Canada, even after their awesome win over Russia the night before. God, that was sweet. #### you John Carlson, you ruined the tournament.

[tomo]

Originally Posted by saskflames96

Nobody wanted to see Switzerland get mauled by Canada, even after their awesome win over Russia the night before. God, that was sweet. #### you John Carlson, you ruined the tournament.

Isn't that the proof right there that the population isn't large enough to support it? The advantage of MOST larger markets is that there is a much larger casual fanbase to fill seats with.

[sevenarms]

Originally Posted by saskflames96

Nobody wanted to see Switzerland get mauled by Canada, even after their awesome win over Russia the night before. God, that was sweet. #### you John Carlson, you ruined the tournament.

So who's going to want to see Columbus play??

[saskflames69]

Originally Posted by tomo

Isn't that the proof right there that the population isn't large enough to support it? The advantage of MOST larger markets is that there is a much larger casual fanbase to fill seats with.

Buffalo didn't sell out every game either.. In fact, they only sold out 3 times during the entire tournament.

[devo22]

I'll just throw it in here because people have talked about Saskatoon here as well - here's a piece by McKenzie about Saskatoon's interest for a franchise:

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=389234

[saskflames69]

AGAIN, this thread is about Seattle. Can we move this discussion to a "Potential Saskatoon NHL team" thread?

[valo403]

Originally Posted by saskflames96

Buffalo didn't sell out every game either.. In fact, they only sold out 3 times during the entire tournament.

Buffalo had 3,000 more seats to fill. They had a number of games with an attendance short of a sell out but well over the capacity of Saskatoon.

[Nufy]

Seattle Twilights...

Isn't that town (Forks) supposed to be in Washington State ??

[Coach]

^^ Closet Twilight fan?

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by saskflames96

Nobody wanted to see Switzerland get mauled by Canada, even after their awesome win over Russia the night before. God, that was sweet. #### you John Carlson, you ruined the tournament.

That game should have been sold out months before anyone even had a clue Switzerland was playing Canada in that game.

See: Edmonton, Calgary 2012

[Vulcan]

It looks like the Sacramento Kings arena deal has fallen through.

Friday's development suddenly improves the chances of Chris Hansen — the San Francisco hedge-fund manager who wants to build an arena for NBA and NHL teams in Seattle — acquiring the Kings.

"However, these developments are a reminder that franchise opportunities may arise quickly and in an unpredictable fashion," he said in a statement. "And so we should continue with our joint efforts to find an 'Arena Solution' that best works for our City, County and the various constituents of our community and in as timely a fashion as is feasible to ensure we are in a position to take advantage of an inevitable opportunity when it arises."

This a key and it doesn't look like Seattle is ready if the Coyotes become suddenly available. It could become interesting if the NHL finally decides they are open to moving that franchise and want to move it now.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...ramento14.html

[C_of_Red28]

If Seattle gets a team.. Please name them the Seattle Whalers! Be great to have the Whalers back and would be a good rival for vancouver. Orca vs whalers

[FlamesAddiction]

Probably doesn't deserve its own thread, so I thought I would put it here... but the City of Markham is still slowly pushing ahead plans to build and NHL quality arena.

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loc...TorontoNewHome