Now that it’s been revealed that a commodities-trading billionaire is maybe interested in building an NHL arena in a Seattle suburb, everyone is sniffing around for more information, filing public records requests left and right. And they’ve turned up lots of stuff, even if none of it is quite what we’d most like to know:
- Chris Daniels of KING 5 reports that the city of Tukwila has had “numerous conversations” with Ray Bartoszek’s arena group, and one of the investors may have met with arena operators AEG and arena architects Populous!
- The Seattle Times reports that local biodiesel magnate Yale Wong owns part of the land that would be used for the arena’s parking garage! And Wong has met NBA legend Bill Russell!
As for how the hell this thing would be paid for, and whether Bartoszek has a business model where he’s really going to host 200+ nights a year of events at an arena way out of town, the documents are silent. Right now it sounds like Bartoszek is trying to create momentum that will make his arena seem like a more viable option than Chris Hansen’s downtown Seattle one; it could be a while yet before anything becomes clear about how it would actually work.
“way out of town” is a gross overstatement Neil. This is a long-term play that Tukwila will be the next suburb to blow-up. With Seattle and near-by Bellevue experiencing exploding real-estate prices, Tukwila has the zoning for skyscrapers, just needs momentum to push it that direction. The arena is that momentum.
Tukwila is less than 10 minutes from the airport, which is the key here. Having a worldclass arena that close the airport and with near-by public transportation is something that can draw conventions and other events. The developers are planning to make Tukwila into a small business hub given the proximity to the regions only airport. Personally, as someone who supports the other arena project, I don’t want this deal to happen and for my own person enjoyment – the location in not convenient. However, it would be stupid to simply knock the project without looking at all the pro’s with the con’s.
I lived in Seattle for 15 years. Maybe this location is great news for south-enders but if I had to go from the city to Tukwila to watch a ballgame, I’d feel like I was being punished for something.
I’ve spent a lot of time in Seattle, and I’ve gone to the airport (via both car and public transit), and it’s way out of town. Not any worse than the Meadowlands in New Jersey, maybe, but an arena there would have a tough time stealing 200+ nights worth of concerts away from Key.
@Kevin
Doesn’t Seattle already have a convention center? With all due respect to the fine folks of Tukwila, why would any convention of a too-big-for-hotel size choose Tukwila over downtown Seattle?
I’m with Neil…to have two venues in Seattle metro area (without even mentioning the Tacoma Dome) competing for the same (limited) events is suicide for both. The proximity of the airport has nothing to add to the equation.
Don’t forget Everett, too.
Now Everett, that is WAY out of town and not close to anything.
I don’t see how this is far out of town. Tukwila is literally an 8 minute drive from the airport and not a stretch of road that is prone to heavy traffic, or either a 12 minute train ride from downtown Seattle or a 30 minute drive during an average rush-hour traffic day. While I generally agree with John – as a Seattle north-sider I have no interest in the arena being located in Tukwila, I can see this steeling business from Seattle and being a viable NBA/NHL location.
Why would this venue steel events from Key arena? Because very very few headliner concerts ever play at Key arena. Key Arena is small and antiquated, and very hard for headliner concerts to pack and load. Most often, headliner entertainers will play at the Tacoma Dome while many just don’t play in Seattle because of the venue issue. That in mind, a Tukwila arena would be a major improvement. As for conventions, I can see proximity from the airport being a major selling-point here. Seattle will always be the big draw, but no-doubt that there is room for another player in the convention space and being an 8 minute drive or short light rail trip away will be a major draw for some.
*steal :)
This is a great idea. Let the mythical arena move to Tukwila and develop the proposed SoDo arena location into a SSS for Sounders 2 and the Reign.
I think the comment per Everett had to do with their arena which also hosts concerts. However it’s a smaller venue.
I’m an Everett resident who due to the traffic and lack of transit options would not be inclined to attend events at the Tukwila arena unless they were on the weekend. Many others I know in Snohomish County and North King County are of the same opinion.
Demographically those in the north end have a higher median income than those in the south.
The central location of Chris Hansen’s proposed arena works out better for me.
@Ezra, what do you imagine in terms of capacity for your idea? I feel like the Sounders are too invested in Starfire to do something like that. If anything, they should help develop Memorial Stadium. Between Reign, S2, and Bumbershoot, I think it would definitely be worth upgrading.
@R I was thinking of something around 8,000 (or around twice the size of Starfire). Memorial Stadium has so many problems, that it really would be easier to just build it from scratch, so might as well do that in a location with better access than Memorial. And then they wouldn’t have to worry about sharing it with high school football or Bumbershoot, so they could use natural grass.
@Ezra How bad are Memorial’s problems? To me it sounds like such a pleasant location, being in Seattle Center and all. Parking wouldn’t be as big an issue, because the crowds wouldn’t be so huge. I’d prefer grass, but turf might be easier in this case, because the Sounders et al could replace it on a more frequent basis. The problem with the CLink turf is that the Seahawks insist on it only being replaced after 4 years because they like the hardness. When it comes to a small SSS in SoDo, I wonder if the Mariners are going to protest against it like they’re doing with the Arena proposal.
@R
Well, the biggest problem with Memorial is it’s not wide enough to safely fit the FIFA recommended minimum pitch size of 64 m (70 yards) and still have some sideline areas (the sidelines would be right up against the wall on the ends of the stands). That means at least part of one of the stands will have to be demolished, if not all (depending on what removing the front part would do to the structural integrity).
2nd biggest problem is the traffic getting there, which is not so affectionately called the Mercer Mess (and this is even without any stadium traffic). And for public transit it’s either busses that have to deal with the traffic or the monorail, which is a joke. Ingress/egress in SoDo is a lot better, as it’s been designed to handle the traffic from the 2 large stadiums. And the light rail and Sounder trains have stops right by it.
@Ezra but doesn’t the area handle Seattle Storm games without much incident? They averaged 6,717 in 2014. The Seattle Reign, I can’t find 2014 average for, but their highest was 5,957. Sounders 2 so far, has maxed out at 2,951. I don’t see how the two soccer teams would impact traffic more significantly than existing large events, and given the attendance so far, it would seem harder to justify building a brand new stadium in SoDo, regardless of how small it was. Memorial Stadium, with additional use for Bumbershoot and High School Football, could justify an upgrade. (though you’re right about the field width, and I’m not sure how things would work out with turf)
@R
It’s not that the attendance numbers affect the traffic, but the traffic affects the attendance. For something more ingrained like basketball, people are more willing to fight the traffic to get there. For the Reign or Sounders 2, there are people who will look at the traffic and decide not to go.
The field would 100% have to remain artificial turf. No way around that unless they could get rid of the high school football and Bumbershoot, which would then negate part of the reason for upgrading it. They could at least make it have non-permanent lines, which would be an upgrade.
Oh, and the Reign averaged 3771.