Construction of Seattle Center’s new arena began on December 5, with Mayor Jenny Durkan and Seattle City Council members along with community leaders, OVG-Seattles’s CEO Tim Leiweke and NHL Seattle joining the official groundbreaking ceremony, the NHL franchise announced on its official website newarenaatseattlecenter.com. The new arena went from planning to construction within a year, according to reports.
This “is another step toward our newly awarded franchise taking the ice at a new Seattle Center Arena,” said Tod Leiweke CEO and Team President of Seattle NHL team.
The new arena will host games like NHL hockey beginning in the fall of 2021, Storm basketball, Seattle University basketball and provide a home for NBA if a team returns to Seattle. Over 140 sporting events, concerts, entertainment and family activities can be hosted each year. The new venue will have an increased number of top-tier arena concerts and family entertainment events.
“We know that fans are going to be amazed at the new arena, our neighbors and community will be proud, and we can’t wait to open the doors in time for the Seattle Storm to begin its 2021 season, with the inaugural NHL Seattle season soon to follow,” said Tim Leiweke.
Few days earlier, OVG-Seattle’s arena project team headed by Senior Construction Executive Ken Johnsen and CAA ICON, announced Mortenson as its general contractor for the project. The Skanska-Hunt partnership will step down as contractors. It was also announced that architecture firm Rockwell Group will be designing the arena’s suites and club levels. They will work jointly with the architecture firm Populous.
“A transition back to Mortenson is the right move for the project at this time. We have great regard for the Skanska-Hunt team and appreciate the significant work already done. They are working in concert with Mortenson to ensure a seamless transition and this project will be indebted to them for their early work and efforts. The current project timeline and approach has not been impacted by this decision,” said Tim Romani, CEO, CAA ICON.
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