The NBA is expected to return to Seattle on a limited basis later this year, as the league will reportedly schedule a preseason game at KeyArena.
The Sacramento Bee has reported details on the game, which is expected to be an October contest featuring the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors. Should these plans be finalized and announced, it will build it anticipation for the first NBA game at KeyArena since the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008.
There have been efforts in the years since the Sonics’ departure to bring another NBA team to Seattle, with the Kings once courted by the city before landing a new arena in Sacramento. More recently, plans have been taking shape for the Oak View Group to renovate KeyArena as part of a major project that will raise the venue to modern NBA and NHL standards. At this point, the paperwork for the October NBA preseason game has not been finalized, but it is being reported as a formality. More from The Sacramento Bee:
The Golden State Warriors will host the Kings on Oct. 6 in a preseason game at – you guessed it – KeyArena. All that is left is for the parties to sign and submit the contract, which according to multiple league sources, is a mere formality. This is happening.
The Kings are game. The Warriors really want to do this. Kevin Durant, who made his debut with the SuperSonics a decade ago during their final season in the Pacific Northwest, undoubtedly has been consulted and presumably has no objection. And while a segment of Kings fans are unforgiving, and many Sonics fans are gnashing their teeth and still agonizing about what they lost and what might have been – this is absolutely irresistible.
Back in December, the Seattle City Council approved a memorandum of understanding with Oak View Group on the $600 million renovation to KeyArena. The city is expected to pursue an NBA team at some point, but an NHL expansion franchise appears to be the more imminent possibility, as it was recently announced that a season-ticket holder drive for the NHL team will begin in March.
