Seattle City Council votes in favor of new arena project

Seattle City Council voted unanimously in favor of Oak View Group's proposed arena project, which could house the NHL's 32nd franchise, the Seattle ownership group announced Monday.

The Seattle Center Arena project will see a $700-million renovation to KeyArena, which is now scheduled to break ground this fall.

"Today is a historic day for the future of our city and the New Arena at Seattle Center," OVG chief executive officer Tim Leiweke said. "We are one step closer to transforming an iconic landmark into a state-of-the-art arena that sets a new global standard at no risk to the City or taxpayers, while still preserving the soul, character, and honoring the Champions of an arena that has given Seattle so much."

The news comes with OVG set to make its pitch to the NHL Board of Governors on Oct. 2 in New York City.

"Now it's time to go to work," Leiweke said. "Our team stands ready to begin the next phase of this process and we plan to continue to communicate with our neighborhood and city partners to mobilize towards construction and our groundbreaking. In our conversations with members in communities across Seattle and our region, it has been amazing to see the excitement around this project and we are anxious to take this next step towards making a dream a reality."

While the pitch will be formally made to the NHL next week, a final decision from the league on whether it will grant Seattle an NHL franchise is not expected until at least December.