Seattle's Hockey Team Will Pay For Fans To Use Public Transit

SEATTLE, WA — Fans planning to catch a hockey game at the new Seattle Center arena next year will have the option to avoid traffic and get there via public transit free of charge, NHL Seattle announced Tuesday. The team, which has yet to be named, said it would "fully subsidize" ORCA transit costs for all ticketholders.

The team also announced a partnership with the Seattle Monorail, which runs between Westlake Center and Seattle Center, to help run visitors the last mile between the downtown core and the new arena. Under the $6 million deal, NHL Seattle will pay for upgrades at the Monorail's Westlake station, including upgraded platforms, better elevators and electronic fare gates, which will accept ORCA cards.

NHL Seattle estimates game-day trains will be able to ferry 325 fans per trip, every two minutes. The team expects 25 percent of the arena's total capacity could be moved via Monorail in under 40 minutes.

"We plan to re-introduce people to the idea that the Monorail is still what it was designed to be — high-speed transit," said Lance Lopes, NHL Seattle's Executive Vice President. "It's an existing last-mile high-speed connection from downtown to the arena that any number of sports teams would love to have in their city."

Sound Transit will open three more Link light rail stations in Seattle in 2021, in the University District, Roosevelt and Northgate, where the team's practice facility will be located. NHL Seattle estimated trips from Northgate to the new arena would lake less than 25 minutes, including time to transfer to the Monorail.

NHL Seattle said its public transit initiative is just the third of its kind in the nation for a sports team, behind the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors.