The NHL and commissioner Gary Bettman recently acknowledged what those in the general hockey-viewing public have known for months, even if Bettman wasn't willing to admit it until now: the league is actively pursuing possibilities for expansion.
Bettman, reviled though he may be as a brash American lawyer running a sport whose fanbase is predominantly Canadian, has overseen a period of exponential growth for the league and for the game in the U.S., where it has, for almost the entirety of its existence, operated as something of an also-ran in a country where sports like football, baseball and basketball rule the land.
Now that the NHL has officially opened its expansion sweepstakes, it seems potential bid applications won't been hard to come by, as Chris Peters of CBS Sports indicates that bids are likely from expected locations such as Las Vegas, Quebec City and even Toronto.
A recent report though, from Ken Campbell of The Hockey News, suggests that Seattle could be a surprise contender and, more importantly, could have a leg up of sorts on the competition due to the amount of interest being shown by potential owners.
Per Campbell, sources indicate that a Los-Angeles-based real estate developer and native Vancouverite, Victor Coleman, has "definitely" requested a bid package and intends to apply by the July 20 deadline. Ray Bartoszek, a Connecticut investment banker, is believed to have requested a package as well.
Further, Campbell notes that two groups are "looking into the possibility" of building an arena in Bellevue, a suburb which is across Lake Washington from Seattle.
This amount of interest was likely unexpected for the NHL, who have thus far focused their efforts on Vegas and Bill Foley's season-ticket drive, but it is likely very welcome.
Unfortunately, it seems that the NHL prefers a downtown location, so any plans outside of the city proper, like the one in Bellevue, are likely to garner less interest from the league.
It also seems the heavy cost of expansion - a $500 million fee - will make it difficult for someone like Coleman, who is only interested in owning a hockey team, to build an NHL-only facility. Seattle also has a "memorandum of understanding" wherein $200 million in public money would be provided for a joint NHL-NBA facility and $125 million for an NBA-only facility.
The city is not willing to fund an NHL-only facility at that cost, per Cambpell, complicating the situation further.
As such, NHL expansion to Seattle may hinge at least partially on the NBA and a team such as the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks are threatening to move if they don't get a new downtown facility and Seattle has been considered a "prime landing spot" were the franchise to actually relocate, though that consideration could prove moot if the league simply does not allow them to.
Enter Christopher Hansen, a hedge fund manager who has both been half of an NBA-NHL partnership with Coleman before and who was once part of an attempt to buy the Sacramento Kings and relocate them to Seattle.
The possibility of any NBA team in Seattle does not seem likely at present though, even given the Bucks unhappiness, so Coleman is faced with a dilemma of either finding a different partner or building the rink and paying the expansion fee on his own.
"I'm looking at an alternative partner," Coleman told KING5 News in Seattle in April. "The reality is basketball is not coming soon. I'd be ready to listen and would be willing to reconsider the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] if there is an NHL-first proposal that pencils out for the city."
In the end though, as Campbell notes, what's most important for fans of professional hockey in Washington is that it certainly seems at this point that the NHL "want to be in Seattle" and "Seattle definitely wants to be part of the NHL."
