Features
Seattle Announces KeyArena Deal
. – KeyArena at Seattle Center
.
OVG plans on spending $600 million on the project, plus $40 million to improve traffic and transportation to meet requirements from a State Environmental Policy Act review of the site, and another $20 million for a community fund.
The plan promises Seattle the revenue it already receives from KeyAreana and OVG would pay average $2.6 million in annual rent, according to the Seattle Times.
The Seattle City Council has until Dec. 31 to approve the Memorandum of Understanding.
The plan is a step forward in bringing professional basketball and hockey teams back to the city. The NHL, in particular, has eyed relocating a franchise to Seattle to balance its conference alignments. Earlier this year, OVG partnered with Hollywood, Calif., producer Jerry Bruckheimer and billionaire bank investor David Bonderman to be the Seattle owners of an NHL team.
Seattle is also offering OVG a 39-year lease with two eight-year renewal options. In return, OVG would have to pay at least $168 million in ongoing KeyArena improvements and acquire NBA and NHL teams.
A nonexclusively clause in the deal leaves the door open for entrepreneur Chris Hansen and his investment group to build a new sports facility in the entertainment district that’s home to the MLB’s Mariners and NFL’s Seahawks. Hansen made an offer to renovate the KeyArena a week prior to the announcement of OVG’s deal.
OVG, which is partnered with Live Nation, is not seeking exclusivity over the arena.
Construction for the project is scheduled for October 2018.