There will be an NBA game in Seattle this fall, as the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors are set to meet in a KeyArena preseason game on October 5.
The game is notable in a number of respects. Seattle is still seeking an NBA franchise to replace the Seattle SuperSonics, who relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. There have been various efforts over the years to land a new team, including a previous run at the Kings, but Oak View Group’s upcoming renovation to KeyArena is expected to boost the city’s chances of eventually bringing back the NBA.
The NBA will have some exposure in the city this fall, when the Warriors–who feature former SuperSonics star Kevin Durant–and the Kings square off on October 5. It is currently scheduled to be the last event at KeyArena before the venue closes for the upcoming renovation. More from SeattlePI:
The preseason game between the Warriors and Kings will be the last event at KeyArena before it undergoes its $600 million renovation, slated to begin at the end of this year.
There’s been hope in recent months that an NBA franchise could return to Seattle with the renovation. The city hopes to open the revamped arena for an NHL expansion team by 2020.
Oak View Group has been planning to complete the renovation, which will raise the arena to modern NBA and NHL standards, in time for the 2020-21 NHL season. The effort to land an NHL expansion team is already well underway, so that league is currently the more imminent option for Seattle than the NBA. However, the NBA is likely to remain on the city’s radar and this fall’s exhibition could be one step on the road to eventually bringing the league back to Seattle.
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