Seattle is not a traditional hockey market. I’m not sure that they could support a team. The NHL wants them there. Will they be successful? No way they support a team. Not a chance. Seattle has heard it all before. Today Seattle hockey fans sent an amazing message to the NHL and their naysayers. NHLSeattle reached the 10,000 seat deposit goal in 12 minutes and went on to hit 25,000 in 60 minutes. That number continues to climb. That kind of response is a strong indication of the amount of interest there is in Seattle for an NHL team. For a frame of reference, the Vegas Golden Knights ownership group took 48 hours to sell 5,000 seats. Additionally, it took 6 weeks to reach 25,000 deposits. This type of response is virtually unheard of in season ticket drives. The ticket deposits are priced at $500 and $1,000 per seat.
Seattle Sells 25, OOO Seat Deposits In 60 Minutes
Some fans had to wait for 15 to 20 minutes to reserve their seat deposits. It seems that TicketMaster servers were unable to handle the volume of requests coming in for seat deposits, aside from normal traffic. The hashtag #NHLSeattle was trending on Twitter for the first two hours of the deposits and tweets are still flooding in regarding this event.
Ownership Group Rallies With The Fans
This does not guarantee an expansion team will be granted to the ownership group. That group is made up of Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Private Equity CEO Daniel Bonderman. That said, this deal is likely all but done. Both met with fans last night at Seattle’s only hockey bar, the Angry Beaver. They and the Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke met with fans. They also handed out NHL 2020 caps and other merchandise to rally support. The fans at the bar were amazed, grateful and delighted that the group came out to celebrate on the eve of the ticket drive.
Seattle Has Hockey History And An Active Fanbase
Despite the lack of an NHL team, the Seattle area has a history with the sport of hockey. A local team won the 1917 Stanley Cup as the Seattle Metropolitans. They also fielded the Seattle Totems in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. A team that included Hall of Famer Guyle Fielder The area supports an active adult, youth and female hockey player population and many fans. It is not uncommon to see fans around the area sporting Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, and Philadelphia Flyers jerseys on any given weekend. It appears that those jerseys will be replaced by the hometown team in the not too distant future. For now, fans are content with seeing the NHL 202O flag flying from the Space Needle.
