The Oak View Group says it has collected over 25,000 ticket deposits so far for a potential NHL team in Seattle, including 10,000 in the first 12 minutes they were available.
As of Thursday afternoon, fans had the option of putting down deposits of $500 or $1,000 to be given priority selection for season tickets once a team is established in Seattle.
OVG, which includes sports executive Tim Leiweke and filmmaker Jerry Bruckheimer, filed an application for an NHL team in Seattle on Feb. 13. As part of the application, the group is financing a $660-million renovation of KeyArena, with the goal being to have the building ready for the start of the 2020-21 NHL season.
Earlier this week, OVG released new renderings of what the renovated KeyArena will look like.
On Wednesday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman appeared confident a team in Seattle would be successful, citing a natural rivalry with the Vancouver Canucks and the fact that the market has had success with hockey at other levels.
“Everything I’m hearing is, not only are [Seattle’s prospective ownership group] optimistic, they’re incredibly excited at the response they’re getting,” Bettman said Wednesday on Sportsnet 650’s The Program. “And, again, I’m not surprised because the Pacific Northwest has a great interest in hockey – great fans at all levels of the game.
“Seattle has a tradition at other levels of having hockey and, frankly, the possibility of a geographic rivalry with Vancouver is a checkmark in the right column.”
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