Seattle Awarded Expansion NHL Franchise
The National Hockey League announced on Tuesday that the league has awarded its 32nd franchise to the city of Seattle, Washington.
The as-yet unnamed franchise will start play in the 2021-22 season. They will play in the Western Conference's Pacific Division. The Arizona Coyotes will move to the Central Division in three years.
The team will play at the renovated Seattle Center Arena (formerly KeyArena, and formerly the Seattle Center Coliseum) This is where the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics played from its inception in 1967 until the team left for Oklahoma City in 2009.
The Seattle ownership group will pay a $650 million expansion fee and plan on building a practice facility and will pay for renovations to the existing arena.