KeyArena, the former home of the Seattle SuperSonics (NBA), has a new tenant lined up: the Seattle University Redhawks, which is moving from NCAA Division II to Division I this season. It’s a homecoming of sorts: the former Chieftains and their star, Elgin Baylor, called the Coliseum home back in the 1960s.
KeyArena, the former home of the Seattle SuperSonics (NBA), has a new tenant lined up: the Seattle University Redhawks, which is moving from NCAA Division II to Division I this season.
The details of the lease still need to be worked out, and no one is expecting Sonics-type crowds to flock to the Key. The Redhawks will not seat fans in the tarped-off upper level, bringing capacity down to 7,000 or so, and the team is playing a hybrid schedule against both Division I and Division II foes this season.
It’s a homecoming of sorts: the former Chieftains and their star, Elgin Baylor, called the Coliseum home back in the 1960s. Basketball was a serious draw, with the team once drawing over 14,000 fans for a 1967 game against Texas Western.
For KeyArena, Seattle University will become the only sports tenant left. The Sonics are gone, and the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds will be playing home games at a new Kent arena next year.
