Seattle Gets NHL Team 100 Years After Stanley Cup Win

SEATTLE, WA - The NHL Board of Governors unanimously approved an expansion team in Seattle, the first pro hockey team in Puget Sound since the 1920s. The new team could hit the ice as soon as the 2021 season, pending a major renovation of KeyArena.

In addition to the team news, NHL Seattle CEO Tim Leiweke said KeyArena renovations will get underway on Wednesday morning.

"Today is a dream come true for an entire city," Leiweke said.

The Seattle NHL team has been hotly anticipated by fans ever since plans to renovate Key Arena were announced in 2017. Already, about 33,000 people have put down deposits for season tickets - smashing the team owners' goal of selling 10,000.

"Seattle, the NHL is thrilled to welcome you," NHL Governor Gary Bettman said.

Bettman said the governors made the decision for three reasons: the team owners, the enthusiasm for a team, and the plans for a "state-of-the-art" arena.

In October, a group of Seattle city officials and team owners from the Oak View Group pitched the Seattle team plan to the NHL Executive Committee. After the presentation, the committee unanimously recommended the NHL approve the team.

The Oak View Group plans to massively renovate KeyArena, spending $700 million to add new seating and other amenities. The Seattle City Council approved the group's renovation plans in September.

"We are one step closer to transforming an iconic landmark into a state-of-the-art arena that sets a new global standard at no risk to the City or taxpayers, while still preserving the soul, character, and honoring the Champions of an arena that has given Seattle so much," Leiweke said in a September press release.

The team owners will also build a massive training and business center in the Northgate neighborhood. The Seattle Ice Centre will feature three rinks, two that will be available for public use.

The NHL board vote took place in Sea Island, Georgia. Seattle's team will be the 32nd in the NHL. Seattle had a professional team, the Metropolitans, between 1915 and 1924. The team won the Stanley Cup in 1917.

Photo via Getty Images