KeyArena
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "KeyArena".

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007)

KeyArena

Location	305 Harrison Street Seattle, Washington 98109
Opened	1962 (renovated 1994)
Owner	City of Seattle
Operator	City of Seattle
Construction cost	$74.5 million (1994 renovation)
Capacity	Basketball: 17,098 Hockey: 15,177 Concert: 16,641 Boxing: 17,459
Tenants
Seattle SuperSonics (NBA) (1967-1978, 1985-1994, 1995-2008) Seattle Storm (WNBA) (2000- Present) Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) (1977-1994, 1995-2009 Seattle SeaDogs (CISL) (1995-1997) Seattle University Redhawks (NCAA) (1963-1980, 2008-Future)

KeyArena at Seattle Center, also known as KeyArena, is located north of downtown Seattle, USA on the grounds of Seattle Center (the site of 1962's Century 21 Exposition, a World's Fair).

The arena's primary tenant is the Seattle Storm of the WNBA. It hosted the 1974 NBA All-Star Game and is also used for non-athletic entertainment purposes, such as ice shows, circuses, and concerts.

KeyArena was once home to the Seattle SuperSonics. On July 2, 2008 the Oklahoma City based ownership group of the SuperSonics reached a settlement deal with the City of Seattle; releasing the team from the last two years of their lease with the city and allowing the team to relocate to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 NBA season. The SuperSonics name was dissolved. Until July 2, 2008 it was the oldest arena in the NBA.

In addition to being the former home of the NBA in Seattle, it was also home to the Seattle Thunderbirds, a junior hockey team in the Western Hockey League. The Thunderbirds hosted the Memorial Cup at KeyArena in 1992.

KeyArena is the first publicly financed arena in the area fully supported by earned income from the building. Its seating capacity for basketball games was 17,098, ice hockey games and ice shows 15,177, end-stage concerts is 16,641, and center-stage concerts and boxing 17,459. Risers hold 7,440 on the upper level and up to 7,741 on the lower level, with luxury suites adding another 1,160 seats.

Past performers to play at the KeyArena include Shania Twain, Britney Spears, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Kanye West, Rihanna, Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Christina Aguilera, Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D., Destiny's Child, Muse, Josh Groban, Death Cab For Cutie, George Michael, Nine Inch Nails, Angels and Airwaves, Dave Matthew's Band, Miley Cyrus, Bruce Springsteen, Van Halen, The Doors, The Who, The Police, Pink, Keith Urban, Snow Patrol, Coldplay, Bon Jovi, Weezer, Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, Eric Clapton, N'Sync, Gwen Stefani, Metallica, and many more. AC/DC is scheduled to perform in November at the arena.

History

The arena began life in 1962 as the Washington State Pavilion for the Century 21 Exposition. After the close of the Exposition the Pavilion was remodeled as the Washington State Coliseum, one of the centerpieces of the new Seattle Center (the former Exposition grounds). The Beatles played the Coliseum on August 21, 1964. The Coliseum became home to the Seattle SuperSonics beginning with their inaugural season in 1966 and remained so throughout most of the team's lifetime.¹ The Washington State Coliseum would later be renamed the Seattle Center Coliseum; operated by the City of Seattle and named after the Seattle Center grounds.

The Seattle Center Coliseum was the site of the only NBA game that was ever forfeited on account of rain. On January 5, 1986 the Sonics were hosting the Phoenix Suns during a rainstorm. Rain from the Coliseum roof leaked onto the court. Timeouts were called so ballboys armed with towels could do their best to stay ahead of the puddles, but even so, two players slipped and fell on the wet surface. Finally, during the second half, referee Mike Mathis called the game.²

The Coliseum was rebuilt between 1994 and 1995, bringing the arena up to NBA standards of the day. At that time naming rights were sold to Cleveland-based KeyCorp, the parent of KeyBank, and the Coliseum was renamed KeyArena. The renovation cost the city of Seattle $74.5 million and the SuperSonics approximately $21 million. The naming rights cost KeyCorp $15.1 million and are in effect through 2011. Now that KeyArena has lost its major tenant, there has been speculation that KeyCorp may try to amend or back out of the naming rights deal.³

The remodeled arena maintained the architectural integrity of the original roofline by using the existing steel trusses in combination with four new main diagonal trusses. The wood, steel and concrete from the demolition was either reused in construction of the new arena or sold to recyclers. The original acoustical panels, the panels attached to the roof that keep the space from echoing, were refurbished and reused. The court was lowered 35 feet (10.5 meters) below street level to allow for 3,000 more seats.

The first regular season game that the Seattle SuperSonics played in the rebuilt arena was on November 4, 1995, against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Controversy

In late 2004 proposals for expanding KeyArena to nearly twice its current size to accommodate new restaurants, shops, and a practice court (the cost was estimated at $220 million) were debated. These proposals never came to fruition and were cited by current and former Sonics' owners as a reason KeyArena is no longer viable.⁴

Gallery

KeyArena's main entrance.

KeyArena's main entrance.

Interior of KeyArena.

Panorama of the interior of KeyArena.

References

Notes

Coordinates: 47°37′19.63″N 122°21′14.59″W / 47.6221194, -122.3540528