Seattle mayor begins process to woo NHL

As expected, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the city and the Los Angeles-based Oak View Group (OVG) to renovate KeyArena.

Joined by community leaders and Seattle city council members at Seattle Center, Durkan signed the MOU along with OVG co-founder Tim Leiweke. The MOU was approved by city council Monday. The $600-million renovation is projected to be completed by October 2020.

The thinking in Seattle is this decision could soon attract an NHL team and possibly an NBA franchise down the road. The council voted 7-1 to approve the MOU.

Leiweke was seated in the council chambers with his daughter, company vice-president Francesca Bodie, and his Seattle projects director, Lance Lopes.

Chris Hansen’s group released a statement after the vote saying it still believes its Sodo project is the best shot to bring the NBA back to Seattle. This year he revised his initial proposal, from one seeking up to $200 million in public bond funding, to an all-private proposal.

In September he offered to renovate KeyArena into a downsized music venue for $100 million if his Sodo arena gets built. The city dismissed the offer as too late and said Hansen’s all-private Sodo plan must continue to go through bureaucratic channels pending a decision on whether to present it to the council.

So what’s next?

EIS: An environmental-impact study of the KeyArena plan is underway, and the city hopes to finish it by late next year.

NHL announcement: The NHL is expected to announce in July whether it will relocate a team or place an expansion team in Seattle. Project completion: The target date for completion of the renovation is October 2020, in time to launch an NHL team for the 2020-21 season.