The Seattle Center's new Key Arena was officially completed in late October, and already has hosted a world-class concert and several Thunderbirds and Sonics games. The new facility, which was built on the foundations of the former Coliseum, boasts approximately 3,000 additional seats, three new seating levels, improved sight lines, and expanded concessions.
The $73 million project created a beautiful new facility that would have cost $135 million or more to build from scratch. Re-using the massive steel roof trusses and concrete frame saved more than $15 million. The Seattle Center location saved $15 to $20 million in property and landscaping costs, compared to similar projects in other cities. In addition, the Sonics invested $15 million in kitchen, concession, commissary and team areas.
Best of all, the $73 million project will not cost Seattle taxpayers a dime: revenue from the new building will pay the entire renovation cost, and provide increased revenue to support other Seattle Center programs.
Miscellaneous Facts
There are assisted listening devices for the hearing an visually-impaired
Retractable seating is used to created 155 wheelchair-seating locations, establishing a system that enables able-bodied patrons to sit with disabled companions
58 wheelchair locations are provided in the suites.
There are 171 chairs with folding armrests for motion-impaired patrons
Ramps are located on both the east and west sides for access into the building
Three elevators are available for getting to the various levels.
A significant effort was made to recycle, re-use and reduce during the construction of KeyArena.
The original building was recycled instead of torn down and rebuilt. Its shell was kept, while the interior of the building was completely renovated.
Pieces of the former building's acoustical ceiling were cleaned and re-used for sound buffers.
The cobblestones inside the building and outside the building were recycled from the plaza of the former International Fountain. These cobblestones originally were recycled in 1962 from the old streets in the city.
The demolition and scrap materials were recycled throughout the project. These items include plastic, steel, copper, wood, gypsum board and cardboard.
Precast concrete wall panels and steel joints removed from the NASA Building (which was used for storage) were re-used to build the new commissary.
Other re-used items include the cooling chillers, major landscape materials, and use of existing West Court Building for the Sonics retail store.
The landscaping around the KeyArena involves 9,000 plants in a total area of 32,000 square feet. Last winter, Seattle Center gardeners created a contemporary design with a Northwest flair that would look as good from the inside of the building as it did from the outside. The landscaping focuses on a diversity of plants with a mix of evergreen, deciduous, and flowering plants, including a variety of grasses and conifers.
The Sonics Team Shop is one of the largest team-owned and -operated retail stores in the NBA, and is open year-round. The new store features unique, quality Sonics memorabilia from the NBA's top licensees. A 50-foot jetway connecting the KeyArena concourse and the Sonics Team Shop will set the atmosphere for an exciting shopping experience. Action-oriented, life-sized photographs; pulsing audio; and neon streaks will help build the excitement as fans approach the shop thorough the jetway. The store's interior integrates multimedia technologies with gigantic basketball displays that will keep fans in tune with the excitement of the NBA.
The center speaker system at KeyArena is a sophisticated exploded center cluster design, with four sets of speakers hung above the goal lines for basketball in north, south, east and west clusters. The clusters are time-delayed for proper arrival times of sound to the clusters. The south cluster can be rotated to supports south-end stage productions.
KEY ARENA BY THE NUMBERS
| 1 | Toilet fixture for every 46 people when the KeyArena is at full capacity |
| 2 | Star dressing rooms |
| 5 | Locker rooms |
| 7 | Layers to the roof |
| 8 | Sides to the new state-of-the-art scoreboard |
| 8.5 | Foot shower heads in the Seattle SuperSonics locker room |
| 11 | Miles of pipe used in the ice floor |
| 22 | Concession stands |
| 24 | Inches; the size of the seats in the luxury suites |
| 27 | Ticket windows |
| 35 | Number of feet the event floor was lowered |
| 58 | Luxury suites |
| 145 | Feet; the height of the KeyArena from the floor to the intersection of the roof trusses |
| 155 | Wheelchair locations |
| 171 | Seats with retractable armrests for the motion impaired |
| 250 | Television monitors throughout the building |
| 500+ | The largest number of people working on the KeyArena at one time |
| 650+ | Cars that can be parked in the new parking structure |
| 1,100 | Club seats |
| 2,400+ | Retractable seats |
| 9,000 | Plants used in landscaping |
| 10,000 | Truckloads of dirt taken to Interbay |
| 17,072 | Seating capacity for SuperSonics games |
| 26,800 | Cubic yards of concrete used to construct the building |
| 57,000 | Pounds; the weight of the new scoreboard |
| 100,000 | Pounds; the maximum weight the new trucklift can hold |
| 100,000 | Pounds; the weight of the stage and lighting equipment that can be hung from the rigging grid |
| 200,000 | Cubic yards of dirt excavated from the bowl and taken to Interbay |
| 496,000 | Ice balls in the storage tanks used for the ice floor |
| 1,500,000 | Dollars; the amount of money this project saved by recycling and reusing |
Directions to the Key Arena
The KeyArena is located on the grounds of the Seattle Center (formerly the site of the 1962 World's Fair) in the lower Queen Anne area of Seattle.
(From Interstate 5) Take the Mercer Street exit from I-5 and follow the brown-and-white visitor's signs to the Seattle Center. The KeyArena is located on the northwest corner of the grounds with street access along First Avenue North and cross streets Thomas and Republican. Public parking is available along First Avenue and Fifth Avenue North, Mercer Street, and throughout lower Queen Anne. If you are staying downtown you can catch the Seattle Center Monorail that leaves Westlake Center (Pine Street between 4th and 5th) every 15 minutes on the hour.
SONICS WIN RENT DISPUTE OVER NBA LOCKOUT
July 1, 1999
Copyright 1999 MediaVentures
An arbitrator has ruled in favor of the Seattle Supersonics in a dispute with KeyArena over whether the team owed rent during the NBA player lockout. The lease says the team does not have to pay for games missed because of a labor dispute, but the city said the clause did not apply if the owners locked the players out.
The arbitrator did not explain the ruling, but said the team got to keep most of the $341,144 in rent it withheld. The decision meant a loss to the city which had already decided to refund more than $1 million in lease payments from luxury suite holders.
SEATTLE WNBA FRANCHISE ACCEPTS CHANGE IN LEASE TERMS
October 14, 1999
Copyright 1999 MediaVentures
Developers of a proposed WNBA franchise for Seattle grudgingly accepted new lease terms outlined by the Seattle City Council that sets the team's rent at $20,000 a
season, but requires it to pay $100,000 in advance and recoup the balance from earnings. Team officials called the amended provision of the three year lease "unethical and
unfair," but said they would submit it to the league in hopes of being part of the 2000 expansion program. The unnamed team has already sold 5,500 season ticket pledges.
The team had negotiated with the city and believed it had a deal to cover expenses. Council officials said the extra money was for rent. The higher rent will hurt the team
because its ticket prices were based on earlier negotiations.
The city is still smarting from money it lost during the NBA lockout. An arbitrator ruled in favor of the Seattle Supersonics in a dispute over whether the team owed rent
during the lockout. The lease says the team does not have to pay for games missed because of a labor dispute, but the city said the clause did not apply if the owners locked
the players out.
The arbitrator did not explain the ruling, but said the team got to keep most of the $341,144 in rent it withheld. The decision meant a loss to the city which had already
decided to refund more than $1 million in lease payments from luxury suite holders. The new WNBA team would be owned by the Ackerly Group, which also owns the
SuperSonics. The SuperSonics pay $874,000 a year in rent.
THE ULTIMATE SPORTS ROAD TRIP
By: Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell
| Key Arena Ranking by USRT |
| Architecture |  | 7 |
| Concessions | | 6 |
| Scoreboard | | 6 |
| Ushers | | 5.5 |
| Fan Support | | 6.5 |
| Location | | 7 |
| Banners/History | | 6 |
| Entertainment | | 8 |
| Concourses/Fan Comfort | | 6 |
| Bonus: Space Needle | | 3 |
| Bonus: Dan Dickau Sighting | | 3 |
| Total Score |  | 64 |
March 30, 2001 - The structure that houses Key Arena opened in 1962 as the Seattle Center Coliseum. It is part of a larger exhibition complex known as the Seattle Center that was built to host the 1962 World's Fair. In 1967 the NBA awarded an expansion franchise to Seattle and the team known as the SuperSonics settled into the Coliseum as their new home. As the years went by the building began to show its age and by the early 90's it became apparent that the
Sonics would need a new home with all of the amenities of a more modern arena. In an
unusual move it was decided that the Coliseum would be closed for a year and it would be
remade into a state of the art venue. In the meantime the Sonics would use the Tacoma
Dome as a home base and in the fall of 1995 the Coliseum reopened its doors as Key Arena.
Outside the Venue
Included in the Seattle Center complex are many unique exhibition halls as well as
Seattle's signature landmark, the Space Needle, just a short walk away. The architecture of
this building is certainly unique, with a pyramid shaped roof and plenty of glass,
spectacular landscaping and colored pavement. The main plaza is on the west side of the
arena where there is a small marquee displaying ads for the current and future events. In
another unique move, the Sonics have their team store on 1st St. in a building separate
from the arena...or so it seems. After one is finished checking out the shop there is an
underground passageway that takes you right into the arena concourse.
The Concourses
"The Key" is a four sided building in the shape of a pyramid, though the incline of the slope is not as sharp as most buildings of that shape and one can enter the building through any
of the four sides. In at least one of the entrances there was a mural with several monitors
showing the fans entering the venue from outside. This is a two concourse building with
stairs to take one up to the upper level. At many points in the upper level one can get a
good view of the action in the lower concourses. From the lower concourses one can look
outside the building as well, which is attractively landscaped and bears a sloped limestone
and fieldstone veneer and lots of glass. For the most part the concourses are wide and
bright and filled with plenty of souvenir and concession stands. At the main entrance is a
large sculpture taking up the entire wall, which is some sort of huge musical string
instrument. Strum your fingers along the strings and an array of light and shooting water
will entertain you.
Concessions
Of course being Seattle there was no shortage of espresso stands here and with
Starbucks now being the majority owner of the Sonics ."The Key" is already being
nicknamed "The Coffee Pot" by the locals.
The Bowl
Two main seating levels with a level of suites separating the two. There are club seats at
the top of the lower sideline with its own exclusive concourse which we found nothing to
write home about. The eight sided scoreboard sits above center court and simultaneous
scrolling ad panels ring the arena above the suites interspersed with dot matrix boards
showing game stats and out of town scores and other miscellaneous ads. Interesting to
note that the setup for hockey is much different from what we normally see in most arenas.
Here they simply roll back the seats at one baseline and leave the other intact for either
sport. This creates a look similar to what we see at Rochester's Blue Cross Arena where
the center scoreboard bcomes somewhat off-center.
Banners/Retired Numbers
Above the arena bowl are the banners. On one sideline there is a huge "GO SONICS"
banner centered amidst a pair of Seattle Thunderbird (WHL) championship banners. What?
No 1916 Metropolitans' Stanley Cup banner? We were hoping that there would be
something in the building to honor the first US based team to win the Cup but none to be
found. At the other sideline is where jerseys honoring Lenny Wilkens, Jack Sikma, Freddy
Brown, and current head coach Nate McMillan hang alongside the Sonics' division,
Conference and '79 NBA title banners. Also interesting to note that Wilkens' banner is for
his time as a player and as a coach and at times in Seattle did both at once.
Extra Points
During the first half we sat behind a pair a college age kids one of which had a funky 70's
haircut. We didn't think much of it of course until a bunch of grammar school children
converged on him looking for his autograph. It was then we realized that the funky haired
college kid was none other than Gonzaga's sharpshooting star guard Dan Dickau. We
exchanged pleasantries and went about our ways as he disappeared to somewhere else
for the second half.
Summary
Overall, a great place for a game and very nice arena. Not an overwhelming venue but one
we'd have no problems checking out again. We came away much more impressed with the
renovation of the arena in Seattle than with the similar job done in Oakland at the New
Arena.
