What exactly is wrong with KeyArena?

[OldSchoolNoBull]

The center of all of this is the fact that Stern and Bennet wanted a new arena for the Sonics in order to keep them in Seattle.

But, as an outsider to the Sonics, what I don't understand is, what exactly is WRONG with KeyArena? From the way Stern/Bennet talk you'd think it was still the 'old' arena(aka Seattle Coleseum from the 60s to the early 90s), and not the COMPLETELY REBUILT arena that is only 14 years old. Is that actually OLD? NO. United Center is the same age but you don't see anyone clamering for a new arena for the Bulls. The Celtics arena is 12 or 13 years old I think, but everyone seems fine that. Madison Square Garden is much older even. Nobody cares.

So WHAT is the problem with KeyArena anyway? I watched all of the finals in 96...I watched plenty of Sonics playoff games between then and 2003 or whenever the last time was...there wasn't anything wrong with the arena. At all. So what's the problem?

And I hope nobody's attributing sub-par attendance to the quality of the arena. The product has been sub-par....it's going to get better soon, and when it does, attendance will get better too.

[yearsago]

Lack of suites/restaurants/ Not having a foot print for another tenant. Also the lease sucks..and no parking revenues.

[colombianbrew]

I think the main issue is capacity. It only sits in the 17,000s so even with a sell-out you're not getting that many fans. Luxury suites might also be an issue, but I'm not sure on that one.

[jenn_gp]

As a fan who loves watching NBA basketball it provides a very intimate setting. There is not one bad seat in the house. The is nothing wrong with the Key..except maybe the limited choices of restaurants. I am usually stuck eating nachos or a pretzel for dinner whenever I go to games.

But talking from a structural and financial standpoint, see the previous two posts.

[Ex-hippie]

Lack of suites/restaurants/ Not having a foot print for another tenant. Also the lease sucks..and no parking revenues.

Never understood the part about the unfavorable lease. It seems like a distinct issue. If the owners and the league think the lease is so bad, all they have to do is ask to renegotiate, and I'll bet they get much more sympathetic responses than if they say this means they need to abandon the whole damn building.

[elbowthrower]

The lease isn't the core issue- if I'm not mistaken the city's been willing to renegotiate it for a while now.

But one thing a lot of owners get is part or all of the concession revenues, and Key Arena supposedly is lacking in eating/drinking/shopping opportunities. That plus the seating capacity and potential for parking revenue are problems too. Of those three, the parking revenue seems the most difficult to solve with a remodel.

A year or so ago, I remember reading Stern complaining about the way players and other bigshots have to access the arena as well. He said that was unfixable given the confines of Key Arena but it's hard to say whether that's the real dealbreaker.

[AbdicatedReign]

The problem with Key Arena is that it's one of, if not the best, places to watch an NBA game, and that's all it has going for it. From an owner/revenue perspective, it isn't attractive because of the issues already outlined. But, for my money, there isn't a better arena in the league. And when the Sonics have put a quality product on the floor, it was arguably the toughest place to play in the NBA.

[colombianbrew]

I recently had a chance to watch a game at Energy Solutions Arena (formally Delta Center) and noticed a few things. Firstly, you park for $5 in a city lot and secondly, it just feels cavernous. As a fan I'd much prefer to watch in the Key and secondly, they can't be pulling in a ton of parking revenue.

[elbowthrower]

Watching hoops at Key Arena is a pleasure compared to some of the arenas I've been to.

The irony is that Madison Square Garden is a frickin DUMP. Old uncomfortable seats, dirty as all hell, and you can't see **** from the upper levels because they're half a mile away. Plus no parking revenue. But you don't hear Stern bitching about that arena.

[yearsago]

-= original quote snipped =-



Never understood the part about the unfavorable lease. It seems like a distinct issue. If the owners and the league think the lease is so bad, all they have to do is ask to renegotiate, and I'll bet they get much more sympathetic responses than if they say this means they need to abandon the whole damn building.

I think schultz wanted to re-negotiate, but I don't believe the city would listen.

[mffl_14]

I'm a Mavs fan from Dallas and I was at a game back in March when you guys played Phoenix and I thought it was pretty cool. It was really weird seeing an arena so divided fan wise but I know that had more to do with Steve Nash and the whole Canadian thing. Anyways I think the biggest short fall of Key Arena is the obvious it's size. I was amazed at how small it was especially in comparison to the AAC but I'm rooting for you guys because Oklahoma sucks ! They have a whole lot of nothing.

[sonic-ben]

Lack of suites/restaurants/ Not having a foot print for another tenant. Also the lease sucks..and no parking revenues.

do not forget

no free rent .. in seattle .... do not like paying for space like a regular bussiness does

[big L]

I believe it comes down to the bad lease, the lack of luxury boxes, and the lack of mall-like amenities. The general trend in arena and stadium design is to provide a more intimate setting, but fewer cheap seats for the average joe and more pricey luxury boxes for local corporations and VIPs. Arenas are also turning into small malls, which I take it the Key just doesn't have, nor does it have the footprint for such an expansion. Luxury boxes and mall stuff is where the money is and Bennett wants a piece.

But let's be serious, we all know that there's nothing that will satisfy that piece of crap.

[Patches Pal]

The NBA cannot make a profit in a basketball arena. The league gave all of the basketball revenues to the players in the 1999 CBA . So, the owner needs a publically subsidized shopping mall attached to the building with all retail and parking revenues going to the owner. Otherwise the owner loses.

[PeopleMuncher]

The biggest issues with KeyArena are simply capacity and the lack of a major second tenant (NHL). Remember, however, that it was Sonics' owner Barry Ackerley who insisted on capping capacity to exclude having to share the building with the NHL, so he wouldn't have to share revenue from luxury suites. So, the Sonics could be said to have made their own bed, so to speak. The City is at fault for not taking a closer look at Ackerley's revenue model before putting itself on the hook for tens of millions of dollars.

The fix is to expand the capacity and get an NHL franchise to share the building, while negotiating a new lease that would accord the Sonics ample opportunity to make an honest profit (not an indecent one at the expense of sorely needed public services). Expanded capacity could also allow the building to host major conventions during the off-seasons for both basketball and hockey, as well as major concerts.

Anyone claiming there isn't a big enough footprint for an expanded facility doesn't know what they're talking about. KeyArena is flanked north and south by temporary buildings left over from the World's Fair - remove some or all of those and there's plenty of space for an expanded facility.

For an expanded facility to happen, however, a lot of pieces have to come together, even if a carpetbagger like Bennett hadn't bought the franchise. The City can't afford to do it all by itself. If, however, the current suits can buy enough time for a public-private partnership to come together to build such a facility, it is difficult to see that the NBA will abandon the 13th largest market, and one of the largest geographical markets, in the country.

[bstein14]

Yeah I always wondered this too. I remember when this arena was built.

In comparison, the Palace of Auburn Hills that the Pistons play in was built in 1988. It's 20 years old, and they just recently expanded it on one side giving it better restuarants/merchadise store.

I still think its a pretty solid arena. I can definately see the Pistons there for another 10+ years.

[SnoBrdrRob]

The city collects 40% of all suites revenue, along with all club seating revenue to pay off construction costs from 1994. Teams like the Pistons collect around $20 million annually off this. Along with this, parking revenue is nearly non-existent. A new lease agreement could put the team in a position to be closer to the black than red. A KeyArena renovation plan this Spring would have put $300 million towards an upgrade, half paid by the team, half by the city and half by the state. All agreed except the state. THose funds would have come from reallocating Safeco Field bonds towards the arena renovation in 2012 when the bonds would have paid off Safeco Field, and go until 2016, when the bonds were scheduled to pay off the baseball stadium. The current owners had no part in this, and it was by Seattle businessmen who wanted to save the team in Seattle. The current owners are frauds who just want a team in tornadoville.

[PimpHandStrong]

The NBA cannot make a profit in a basketball arena. The league gave all of the basketball revenues to the players in the 1999 CBA . So, the owner needs a publically subsidized shopping mall attached to the building with all retail and parking revenues going to the owner. Otherwise the owner loses.

Um...The ESA (formerly the Delta Center) in Salt Lake was built without public money by the owner of a bunch of car dealerships while the Utah Jazz were still struggling financially. He is now willing to go over the luxury tax threshold, and I'm pretty sure he's not nearly as wealthy as Bennett or Shultz.

[colombianbrew]

We can only wish we had Larry H Miller here in Seattle

[BenjaminH]

I kind of like the way he is so conservative. Almost crazily so.