Seattle: Home to NBA and NHL Teams?

I remember pressure washing someones deck on a warm spring afternoon here in Seattle. To help pass the time I was listening to some sports radio. The host came back from a break and announced that the Sonics had officially been sold to Oklahoma City businessman, Clay Bennett. I started to feel ill. My mind was racing. My palms became sweaty. And I most certainly did a crappy job pressure washing. I debated with myself for the next few hours and came to the conclusion that there was no way that the NBA would leave my city.

But thats exactly what happened...the NBA left Seattle. To Clay Bennett and OKC's credit, they are crushing it in the midwest. Raucous fan base, savvy roster moves, local ownership, good branding. But do you know what drives the success of the OKC Thunder the most? They are the only professional team in town (unless of course you count the Oklahoma Wranglers of Arena Football fame).

Now look, I want the NBA to come back to Seattle. Like really bad. I once tweeted that if I had the choice of one of my best friends (Jesy McKinney) moving to Seattle or an NBA team coming back...that I would choose the NBA. I would make that decision every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Basketball is my favorite sport. The NBA is the most competitive form of hoops in the world. I need the NBA to come back here.

In the past few weeks there has been much talk of a new arena being built down by Safeco and Century Link in the SODO neighborhood. The biggest factor in these talks has been that the arena will be able to suit both basketball AND hockey. That way the owners of the respective franchises could split the stadium costs that would fall their way. The NBA's chances of returning hinge greatly on the National Hockey League. I've never been a hockey guy. In fact, the last time I was interested in hockey was when I got Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey for Christmas in elementary school. Great game...but that was honestly the last time I thought about the NHL.

I think that many Seattlelites hold the same feelings when it comes to the sport on ice. I guess the fighting is cool. And having 2 halftimes sounds unique. It sounds like it could be fun...but are you really going to go an buy a baggy jersey with some difficult to pronounce European name on the back? I don't think so. The NBA coming back to Seattle depends greatly upon the idea that we would support hockey...and that makes me nervous.

Right now Seattle has:

League Team Total Attendance Per Game Rank

NFL Seattle Seahawks 531,311 66,413 17 of 32

MLB Seattle Mariners 1,896,321 23,411 27 of 30

NCAA-F Washington Huskies 437,717 62,531 2 of 12 (Pac 12)

NCAA-B Washington Huskies 178,281 9,383 3 of 12 (Pac 12)

MLS Sounders FC 553,987 36,268 1 of 19

Apart from the Mariners, Seattle supports big time sports very well. And when the M's are playing good baseball...we all know heading that to Safeco Field is the best thing to do on a warm summer night.

Seattle is the 13th media market in the US and the economy here is much stronger than most of the country. We also have many large business' that fuel the luxury boxes of all our stadiums. But could we really fuel 7 sports teams?

The support behind professional soccer here in Seattle is absurd an unrivaled by any other MLS team. Husky basketball would likely be #1 in the Pac 12 if we had a bigger arena. Husky football will have a new stadium in 2 years. And the Seahawks are a near sellout for each of their 8 home games. We support alot of teams and we support them pretty darn well. So I ask...is there enough pie to go around for us to support the NHL to come to Seattle? If the answer is no...then getting a new arena and an NBA team may not happen at all.

So I will continue to wear my ROBBED hat with the fake Sonics logo on the front. I'll look at my Kevin Calabro bobblehead doll and remember the good old days. I'll find new pictures of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp to use as my iPhone wallpaper. I'll crack Robert Swift jokes every time I play basketball with a big white guy who sucks.