Developers file request to build NHL arena in Seattle suburb
Developers filed a code interpretation request last week with the Seattle suburb of Tukwila, stating their intention to build an arena with the hopes of luring an NHL franchise there, reports ESPN.com’s Craig Custance.
According to the report, RLB Holdings Sports and Entertainment filed the request and would like to see an arena opened by the beginning of the 2017-18 NHL season.
Investment banker Ray Bartoszek, the co-founder of RLB Holdings based in Greenwich, Connecticut, previously failed in attempts to buy the Arizona Coyotes and move the team to Seattle.
“This is the very early ” Bartoszek said to ESPN.com. “It’s a routine request in the early stages of a potential real estate project.”
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said that Seattle needs to have a substantial arena plan and financing secured before the league could talk about the possibility of putting an expansion franchise in the city.
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The league could put the issue up for debate during a meeting with the NHL’s Board of Governors, which is set to meet in Las Vegas on June 24.
Seattle mayor Ed Murray said he would consider modifying the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which is held between investor Chris Hansen, the city, and King County, so an NHL team could start construction on an arena. The current MOU allows an arena to be built only after an NBA team is put in the city.
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Prospective NHL owner William Foley recently launched a ticket campaign in Las Vegas to determine whether the city would be a viable place to house a franchise and says that the drive could reach the 11,000 buyer mark.
Vegas is in the process of building a $375 million, 17,500 seat arena in hopes of getting a team.
The NHL and Bettman have not said for sure if the league will expand beyond its current 30 franchises.
“There's no doubt [Bartoszek] is a substantial, smart person who is passionate about the game,” Bettman told “We're having conversations to the extent that the interested parties want to talk to us. It hasn’t gotten beyond that.”
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