Construction on the new Seattle Center arena that will be the future home court of the Seattle Storm as well as a yet-to-be-named NHL franchise has been altered because of Covid-19. An ESPN report indicates that the new venue remains on track for completion sometime next year.
According to the report, the president of corporate communications for NHL Seattle said that since the project was considered essential construction, it was allowed to continue despite worries surrounding the coronavirus.
Washington state was one of the first hard-hit areas in the United States to feel the brunt of the pandemic.
Since construction of the arena began, it has displaced the Storm – the former KeyArena’s primary tenant – from the arena. The Storm split its home schedule last season between Alaska Airlines Arena at the University of Washington and Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett and was scheduled to do this year as well before Covid-19 altered the status of the 2020 WNBA season.
Construction initially called for the arena’s completion to be complete in the summer of 2021 – meaning the Storm, not the NHL team, would be the first major tenant to play games at the new arena at Seattle Center.
