The Seattle Sonics' basketball season is penciled-in at Key Arena for next year. During a Seattle City Council briefing Monday, city officials said game days have been set aside at Key Arena starting in November.
The NBA is set to decide in April if it will approve a plan for private investor Chris Hansen to buy the Sacramento Kings and relocate the team to Seattle. Under the plan, the team would play at Key Arena for up to three years while a new stadium is built.
During the briefing, Councilmember Tim Burgess asked whether Sonics games would potentially bump any other bookings at Key Arena. The Seattle Storm and Seattle University men's basketball team play at Key Arena. The arena's also home to the Rat City Rollergirls, although several council members struggled to recall the group's name.
Carl Hirsh, Seattle's consultant on the arena deal, assured the council that "absolutely" all those groups could share the venue. Hirsh said arena staffers are working to iron out any schedule conflicts.
“Well, the good news is that we’ve been working cooperatively with the new management group on several different levels," said Bill Hogan, athletic director at Seattle University. "We feel comfortable moving forward that most of the conflicts -- and there’s only a couple of them -- that they can be worked out."
If the Sonics return, Hogan said his team may need to play a few games at a different location, such as the ShoWare Center in Kent. He also mentioned tip-off times may shift for some of the college games. In some cases, council staff said the college games could be scheduled during the day and the NBA games at night.
Officials with the Seattle Storm and Rat City Rollergirls were unavailable for comment.
