Seattle area: NBA/NHL arena - Page 2

LCIII · October 2nd, 2011, 05:09 PM

I can speak for myself and I'm sure there are others like me but I have made travel plans centered entirely on a sporting event. I've been to 11 east coast Sounders games and I only went to the various cities on those specific weekends because of the game. I'm absolutely sure the same is true for some people who currently travel to games held in Seattle for MLB, MLS and NFL. Surely adding NBA and NHL would only increase that figure.

LCIII · October 2nd, 2011, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhays

I prefer the setup we have now...a couple garages that together fill maybe 1/4 of the parking demand, plus use of the surrounding neighborhoods along with many of their garages.

I was starting to think of where a garage might go...as you say it would take tearing down buildings, and probably deleting a street too, to provide a block large enough. Fairly difficult politically, including the industrial land issue.

Yah they would really have to come up with a grand master plan and really sell it to the community but crazier things have been done. I wish they would though. Just one super garage that all the stadiums/arenas could share would be cool, I think. I also hope whatever/wherever the arena is that it'll be designed and built with the goal of stealing back concert supremacy from the Tacoma Dome. I hate it when acts tour to the Seattle area and end up at the T Dome because Seattle proper doesn't have a large enough venue.

mhays · October 2nd, 2011, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LCIII

I can speak for myself and I'm sure there are others like me but I have made travel plans centered entirely on a sporting event. I've been to 11 east coast Sounders games and I only went to the various cities on those specific weekends because of the game. I'm absolutely sure the same is true for some people who currently travel to games held in Seattle for MLB, MLS and NFL. Surely adding NBA and NHL would only increase that figure.

Yes, but the vast majority of the crowd is still local. NFL probably least of all.

Sounder · October 2nd, 2011, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhays

Yes, but the vast majority of the crowd is still local. NFL probably least of all.

So that still leaves thousands of people, who are spending millions of dollars each year, who would not be in Seattle if it were not for the sports teams.

Since Seattle is the only NFL and MLB city north of the Bay Area and west of Denver or Minneapolis, it attracts thousands of outside fans each year just because of sports. You also attract a significant number of visiting fans.

I have done studies and seen the studies, these sports teams are a mega boon to the local economy.

mhays · October 2nd, 2011, 11:40 PM

Yes it brings thousands. But any study that counts local money equally is an exercise in deception.

Some are at least slightly more honest. They say money is brought to the neighborhood. Of course they downplay that (a) other neighborhoods lose some share of local spending, and (b) there's a counterflow of some spending away from the stadium area as people avoid it on game day.

LCIII · October 3rd, 2011, 12:28 AM

I hope they revive the Seattle Metropolitans if they do in fact bring NHL here. We were te first American team to win the Stanley Cup under that moniker and it'd be great to start out with that heritage.

meaoh · October 3rd, 2011, 12:57 AM

I just moved here from Columbus Ohio and I would LOVE to have an NHL team here. Columbus had the Blue Jackets, and who knows, if the CBJ continue to do poorly financially, maybe they'll move here.

I think arenas are the best sports facilities to build, because not only can they be used for sports but they can also be used for concerts and events nearly 365 days a year. So the community could really benefit from this type of venue. I know there are other places for concerts and the circus, etc., but I think a state-of-the-art arena would really benefit Seattle.

Plus if Seattle wants to call itself a first-class city and really increase its profile in the minds of the rest of the country, having all four major teams would help a lot.

mhays · October 3rd, 2011, 01:28 AM

I don't think we have an issue with our image around the country, except maybe about rain.

It's different in a smaller city that's on the cusp of being "major league" in whatever way, meaning Columbus, Rochester, Oklahoma City, Charlotte, etc.

LCIII · October 3rd, 2011, 01:56 AM

Yah I'm gonna have to agree with mhays on this one. Seattle is plenty respected and taken seriously as a major US city. We don't NEED NBA or NHL to achieve that.

pwalker · October 3rd, 2011, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LCIII

Yah I'm gonna have to agree with mhays on this one. Seattle is plenty respected and taken seriously as a major US city. We don't NEED NBA or NHL to achieve that.

Agreed, but we need to enhance our major league status. This is important not only for city pride, but for revenue.

Seattle without the NBA and NHL will survive, but Seattle with the NBA and NHL will be better. Let's do eveything possible to make that happen. This will make Seattle a better city, not only in prestige, but with revenue. There is no doubt about this.

meaoh · October 3rd, 2011, 03:48 AM

Having just come from Ohio, I can tell you from experience that many people in the Midwest have never been to Seattle, know nothing about it, and don't consider it that special. I happen to completely disagree, and it definitely says more about their ignorance than the awesomeness of this city. Nevertheless, increasing Seattle's exposure will never hurt. We're kinda tucked way up here in the PNW and a lot of people don't pay us much attention.

meaoh · October 3rd, 2011, 03:48 AM

Besides, whether we need it or not, I really want a beautiful arena with two new teams...especially an NHL team!

LCIII · October 3rd, 2011, 03:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meaoh

Having just come from Ohio, I can tell you from experience that many people in the Midwest have never been to Seattle, know nothing about it, and don't consider it that special. I happen to completely disagree, and it definitely says more about their ignorance than the awesomeness of this city. Nevertheless, increasing Seattle's exposure will never hurt. We're kinda tucked way up here in the PNW and a lot of people don't pay us much attention.

Because tourists are flocking to the Midwest...

Seattle is extremely high profile. We're all over the business news because of Amazon.com, Microsoft, Starbucks, Boeing and others. We're constantly featured in movies and television like Twilight and Grey's Anatomy. Our music scene is world-renowned. I'm sorry but you're completely off base.

LCIII · October 3rd, 2011, 04:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwalker

Agreed, but we need to enhance our major league status. This is important not only for city pride, but for revenue.

Seattle without the NBA and NHL will survive, but Seattle with the NBA and NHL will be better. Let's do eveything possible to make that happen. This will make Seattle a better city, not only in prestige, but with revenue. There is no doubt about this.

I do agree that it would enhance things and I'm all for it. But I totally disagree that we NEED it. Seattle will continue to grow in profile and global significance because of things like Biotech firms and our major companies that are headquartered here. Having an NBA and NHL team will be great for us and sure it will give us some more exposure but it's not as significant as I think you're stating it.

meaoh · October 3rd, 2011, 04:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LCIII

Because tourists are flocking to the Midwest...

Seattle is extremely high profile. We're all over the business news because of Amazon.com, Microsoft, Starbucks, Boeing and others. We're constantly featured in movies and television like Twilight and Grey's Anatomy. Our music scene is world-renowned. I'm sorry but you're completely off base.

We'll just have to agree to disagree.

pwalker · October 3rd, 2011, 04:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LCIII

Because tourists are flocking to the Midwest...

Seattle is extremely high profile. We're all over the business news because of Amazon.com, Microsoft, Starbucks, Boeing and others. We're constantly featured in movies and television like Twilight and Grey's Anatomy. Our music scene is world-renowned. I'm sorry but you're completely off base.

Seattle has been high profile for many years.

First, in '62 with the Worlds Fair, and the Space Needle.

Second, in the early 90's with the grunge music scene.

And yes, Starbucks, Microsoft, Amazon, etc.

But let's not pretend this is on going. This attention can be fleeting.

Ginkgo · October 3rd, 2011, 05:37 AM

The Northewest is the only area of the country never to host a major national political convention, mainly because we have no facililty large enough to hold one. An arena for NBA and NHL teams could be or would be large enough to finally get us a national political convention.

LCIII · October 3rd, 2011, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ginkgo

The Northewest is the only area of the country never to host a major national political convention, mainly because we have no facililty large enough to hold one. An arena for NBA and NHL teams could be or would be large enough to finally get us a national political convention.

I never thought about Seattle hosting a national political convention but I guess it would be cool. It would obviously have to be a Democratic convention but still it would be good for the hospitality sector for the week of the event.

LCIII · October 3rd, 2011, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meaoh

We'll just have to agree to disagree.

Yah if you want to igore facts then yes I guess so...

mhays · October 3rd, 2011, 06:10 AM

We're not a swing state (Colorado, North Carolina) and we don't represent a particular national symbolism (9/11). Presidential conventions tend to go to places like that. Also, while I consider the WTO convention a major victory for Seattle, with its gigantic amount of face time, Seattle is very unlikely to seek out a protest sponge anytime soon.

As for how well-known Seattle is, I wouldn't expect the average person in the Midwest or East to know a ton about us. People, including most Seattleites, only have a good sense about a limited number of places outside their region. We're still punching above our weight.

As for Columbus, it has very little identity and would be greatly helped by a major team. Even as someone who pays attention, most of what I know is a football team that's often very good.

Sports teams certainly put a city's name out there. But it's not about the city, rather mostly about the game or the team, except the PR shots after timeouts. The best I can think of is that Seattle's rain image has been helped by sunny Mariner and even Seahawk/Husky/Sounder games.

October 3rd, 2011, 05:37 AM	#37
Ginkgo Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 394 Likes (Received): 61	The Northewest is the only area of the country never to host a major national political convention, mainly because we have no facililty large enough to hold one. An arena for NBA and NHL teams could be or would be large enough to finally get us a national political convention. __________________ Big Green Chauvanist

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October 2nd, 2011, 05:09 PM	#21
LCIII Registered User Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 2,847 Likes (Received): 59	I can speak for myself and I'm sure there are others like me but I have made travel plans centered entirely on a sporting event. I've been to 11 east coast Sounders games and I only went to the various cities on those specific weekends because of the game. I'm absolutely sure the same is true for some people who currently travel to games held in Seattle for MLB, MLS and NFL. Surely adding NBA and NHL would only increase that figure.

October 2nd, 2011, 11:40 PM	#25
mhays Journeyman Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Seattle Posts: 8,339 Likes (Received): 115	Yes it brings thousands. But any study that counts local money equally is an exercise in deception. Some are at least slightly more honest. They say money is brought to the neighborhood. Of course they downplay that (a) other neighborhoods lose some share of local spending, and (b) there's a counterflow of some spending away from the stadium area as people avoid it on game day.

October 3rd, 2011, 12:28 AM	#26
LCIII Registered User Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 2,847 Likes (Received): 59	I hope they revive the Seattle Metropolitans if they do in fact bring NHL here. We were te first American team to win the Stanley Cup under that moniker and it'd be great to start out with that heritage.

October 3rd, 2011, 12:57 AM	#27
meaoh Registered User Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 49 Likes (Received): 0	I just moved here from Columbus Ohio and I would LOVE to have an NHL team here. Columbus had the Blue Jackets, and who knows, if the CBJ continue to do poorly financially, maybe they'll move here. I think arenas are the best sports facilities to build, because not only can they be used for sports but they can also be used for concerts and events nearly 365 days a year. So the community could really benefit from this type of venue. I know there are other places for concerts and the circus, etc., but I think a state-of-the-art arena would really benefit Seattle. Plus if Seattle wants to call itself a first-class city and really increase its profile in the minds of the rest of the country, having all four major teams would help a lot.

October 3rd, 2011, 01:28 AM	#28
mhays Journeyman Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Seattle Posts: 8,339 Likes (Received): 115	I don't think we have an issue with our image around the country, except maybe about rain. It's different in a smaller city that's on the cusp of being "major league" in whatever way, meaning Columbus, Rochester, Oklahoma City, Charlotte, etc.

October 3rd, 2011, 01:56 AM	#29
LCIII Registered User Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 2,847 Likes (Received): 59	Yah I'm gonna have to agree with mhays on this one. Seattle is plenty respected and taken seriously as a major US city. We don't NEED NBA or NHL to achieve that.

October 3rd, 2011, 03:48 AM	#31
meaoh Registered User Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 49 Likes (Received): 0	Having just come from Ohio, I can tell you from experience that many people in the Midwest have never been to Seattle, know nothing about it, and don't consider it that special. I happen to completely disagree, and it definitely says more about their ignorance than the awesomeness of this city. Nevertheless, increasing Seattle's exposure will never hurt. We're kinda tucked way up here in the PNW and a lot of people don't pay us much attention.

October 3rd, 2011, 06:10 AM	#40
mhays Journeyman Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Seattle Posts: 8,339 Likes (Received): 115	We're not a swing state (Colorado, North Carolina) and we don't represent a particular national symbolism (9/11). Presidential conventions tend to go to places like that. Also, while I consider the WTO convention a major victory for Seattle, with its gigantic amount of face time, Seattle is very unlikely to seek out a protest sponge anytime soon. As for how well-known Seattle is, I wouldn't expect the average person in the Midwest or East to know a ton about us. People, including most Seattleites, only have a good sense about a limited number of places outside their region. We're still punching above our weight. As for Columbus, it has very little identity and would be greatly helped by a major team. Even as someone who pays attention, most of what I know is a football team that's often very good. Sports teams certainly put a city's name out there. But it's not about the city, rather mostly about the game or the team, except the PR shots after timeouts. The best I can think of is that Seattle's rain image has been helped by sunny Mariner and even Seahawk/Husky/Sounder games.