See both tweets from Kate Shefte
Something to watch: the Kraken have expressed interest in a public/private partnership for the construction of an ice arena in Kirkland. Sept. 2026 is a target date. pic.twitter.com/90uoxWjZyQ
— Kate Shefte (@KateShefte) March 19, 2024
From a Kraken spokesperson: https://t.co/oszY8dEo0f pic.twitter.com/gNdgxZSP9v
— Kate Shefte (@KateShefte) March 19, 2024
It looks like there is little to no space for spectator seating for either rink if the concept drawing is accurate. That means this facility would not be able to house any kind of pro team unless I’m missing something.
Edit – as others are saying, the purpose is for community use like kids or adult recreational leagues.
by SiccSemperTyrannis
9 Comments
It’s more sheets of ice for the community to use as the ice plex is already at capacity if not over capacity.
This can only be seen as a good thing for kids and adults wanting to get into hockey. I wouldn’t be shocked if other plans pop around the area in the future as the sport grows.
I don’t think they’re intended for pro teams, I think they’re intended for school and amateur leagues. Would be a cool way to get more hockey going in the area, and it seems like the Kraken are offering a reasonable deal to the city.
Between the Kraken and SnoKing hockey leagues there are over 225 adult teams in the Seattle area. There is a desperate need for more ice.
So good to see a team investing in the community. Up here in Vancouver BC, we have the same number of rinks as we did when the Aquilinis bought the team 20 years ago.
Hockey and pickleball are taking over.
>It looks like there is little to no space for spectator seating for either rink if the concept drawing is accurate. That means this facility would not be able to house any kind of pro team unless I’m missing something.
Not the purpose of this rink, or a pressing need for that matter. This would be a community rink for kids and adult rec. At most there will be some small bleachers for each rink.
The Kraken already started andown their own AHL team down in Coachella, the ECHL is bus league more concentrated on the East Coast, and then there’s already our 2 junior teams and their arenas in Kent and Everett. Pretty unlikely we’d ever see another pro facility in the area.
They’re already having to kick kids programs out of Kraken IcePlex because they’re out of ice slots, and it’s in their best interest to grow the number of rec players in the area because rec players tend to be NHL fans too. Wouldn’t be surprised if more Kraken owned rinks followed this one.
Will be interesting to see which programs are tenants. This is just down the road from the Sno-King Kirkland rink which needs to be put out of its misery (It’s built into an old grocery store). There’s been talk of them building a new East Side rink forever, but it’s never come to fruition. I’d imagine if the new rink is Kraken owned, they’ll want to put their Jr Kraken teams there. Would they also sell ice time to Sno-King? Perhaps this will give Sno-King a kick in the but to get going on their rink like Kraken IcePlex did with their Snoqualamie Rink?
On top of this, I’d like to see Kent Valley finally build a second ice sheet. That’s been incoming for 2 decades. I’d also like to see UW build an on-campus rec rink for the club team, and maybe even Seattle Parks and Rec build a rink too.
Holy fuck this would change my life. So little ice time in kirkland right now.
This is to combat some of the issues the SnoKing and Kraken IcePlex facilities have been having with their hockey programs. There just are not enough sheets of ice for the number of teams and youth development programs in the area.
Additionally, some of the politics and coaching problems with the youth leagues at SnoKing have alienated the community, and some of their backers. As a result, they’re going elsewhere. We’re seeing great teams in Kent and even the AAA programs moving under the Kraken banner away from SnoKing.
It’s unfortunate, but they’re shooting themselves in the foot. Glad someone, Kraken or otherwise, are willing to build more ice and give the community more opportunities to play hockey.
I’m rooting for you guys!