Seattle NHL group adds new investors, moves forward on arena deals
The group hoping to bring an NHL team to Seattle has made further progress.
Oak View Group and Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan announced three new agreements relating to the prospective team's arena deal and revealed several new investors in the potential franchise Wednesday.
A development agreement for the new arena, a long-term lease agreement, and an integration agreement were transmitted by the mayor and introduced to the Seattle City Council for consideration.
The group has already received approval from the city to redevelop KeyArena, the home of the WNBA's Seattle Storm and former home of the NBA's SuperSonics.
Related: Seattle hockey CEO says prospective franchise will make NHL pitch this fall
The new investors are David and Jeff Wright (whose family owns the Space Needle and other local landmarks), Seattle Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer, Christoper and Ted Ackerley (sons of former Sonics owner Barry Ackerley), Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy, and Jay Deutsch, the CEO and co-founder of Seattle-based premium merchandise agency BDA.
David Wright will serve as vice chairman of Seattle Hockey Partners, the formal name of the alliance that includes Oak View Group and all of its investors in the Seattle NHL effort.