The pending arrival of Supersonics 2.0 is cause for concern among Seattle Kraken fans. It shouldn’t be. Here’s why: without the NBA, there wouldn’t have been the opportunity to experience hometown NHL hockey.
The concern is that the expansion Sonics will suck up much of the winter sports oxygen currently used to discuss the Kraken. Concern could become reality as early as the end of this year, when NBA governors are expected to approve Seattle for a new team.
This city’s media chatter has been that the Kraken better get good before the NBA re-arrives, or they’ll be easy to ignore. The uncomfortable truth is, it hardly matters in that regard how good the hockey team is.
Reality one is that media coverage is dictated by viewership and readership. Reality two is that the NBA in most U.S. cities is more popular by several magnitudes than the NHL.
In a city pining for a pro hoops fix going on two decades, Seattle is preparing a big hug worthy of a long-lost love. So it’s inevitable that attention paid to the Kraken will be diverted.
It’s been a legitimate sore spot for decades for fans of the L.A. Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes. Not to mention part of the reason there’s no longer an Atlanta Thrashers (now the Winnipeg Jets), or for that matter, Atlanta Flames (now the Calgary Flames).
Kraken Created As Part Of NBA Return
Now comes the part where I reveal why that’s an acceptable trade-off.
Without the quest for an NBA team, Key Arena would never have been renovated into Climate Pledge Arena. To make the Arena pencil out financially, especially as a $1.15 billion privately-funded venture, the owners needed a hockey team to fill dates. Successfully operating a major league franchise would also be a litmus test of ownership’s worthiness for a basketball franchise.
None of this diminishes Kraken ownership’s genuine and devoted attention to their hockey team. As Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke pointed out in a recent media availability, ownership led by Samantha Holloway has always given the green light to spending to the salary cap.
Why the focus on Kraken ownership? Because they’re odds-on favorite to also secure the Sonics expansion franchise – which, again, was the long-term plan all along. Rather than begrudge that, Kraken fans should feel fortunate that the sequence of events brought the NHL to their city.
Sonics Will Be ‘Additive’ To Kraken
“If done the right way, (an NBA team) is additive,” Holloway told The Athletic. “It’s been important that we’ve had enough time to build the Kraken brand and get to where we want to be. There’s always room to grow, but it’s a great time to add basketball, and they’re complementary if done correctly.
“This has been a great market so far,” Holloway added. “You could be losing here and at the end (of the game), people are still in their seats, cheering and having a really good time. So we’re doing something right and giving people a great experience that they still want to be part of.”
Kraken captain Jordan Eberle shared with The Athletic that Holloway addresses the Kraken at the beginning of each season. “Eberle explained that part of what she focuses on in those talks is that their mission goes beyond scoring goals and winning games. They’re also part of building a hockey culture and growing the game in a city where the sport has often been on the fringes, despite its close proximity to the Canadian border.”
CEO Has Already Succeeded In Seattle
Those fringes could get fringier if the Kraken remain a league also-ran. CEO Leiweke has promised a hockey operations-wide audit to determine how to fix a team that’s missed the playoffs each of the last three years.
Leiweke is actually now CEO of just-created One Roof Sports & Entertainment, a parent umbrella company for the Kraken and future Sonics, among other endeavors.
He has a proven track record as CEO of the Tampa Bay Lightning and locally as president of the Seattle Seahawks. So it’s reasonable to believe Leiweke can lead a Kraken resurgence. KIRO-AM sports radio morning host Brock Huard is confident he’ll give the Kraken fix his full attention.
“I’m not going to pretend to know anything on a grand scale when it comes to hockey and its executives. But I do know Tod Leiweke really well for decades, going back to the Seahawks. Tod was not a middle of the road guy. Tod takes risks, big swings. Tod brought in Pete Carroll (as coach of the Seahawks). It was the biggest, boldest, best move that the organization ever made. Tod is willing to swing for the fences.”
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