(Most league insiders consider it a mere formality that any NBA expansion would include Seattle as one of the teams.) While Climate Pledge Arena is already hosting the NHL’s expansion Seattle Kraken and would be ready to roll for the NBA, another potential ownership group led by Chris Hansen (not the “To Catch a Predator” guy) has land for an arena near downtown. It’s interesting because this is one of potentially two places a future Sonics team could play, if and when the league returns to Seattle. It was also my first visit to the building since 1998. This is the refurbished version of the place the Sonics played until 2008, with a deeper pit dug into the ground next to the Space Needle to accommodate more fans, much wider concourses (the old ones were like subway passages) and several other nods to modernity. The Gonzaga-Alabama game I attended on Saturday was held at Climate Pledge Arena, or as jilted Sonics fans know it, Key Arena. 4 weeks ago – via John Hollinger The Athletic

Nhl rebuilt 2004