NHL commissioner: Seattle will get All-Star Game in next seven years
Jan 9, 2019, 12:43 PM | Updated: 4:00 pm
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was in Seattle Wednesday for a press conference at the Space Needle, to talk about the league’s recent expansion to Seattle, and answer questions from the media.
RELATED: An NHL Seattle primer on what what fans need to know
Also available to the media was Seattle Hockey Partners President Tod Leiwicke.
Media scrum begins for @NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's first Seattle press conference after the city was awarded a pro hockey team. @NHLSeattle @KIRORadio pic.twitter.com/i6OFQAtNQb
— Mike Lewis (@MikeLew65) January 9, 2019
“I’m not here for any announcement,” Bettman noted at the beginning of the conference.
Most of the material covered was top-level, general expectations for the future of Seattle’s NHL team.
“We believe coming to Seattle will make the NHL stronger,” said Bettman.
Among the biggest things revealed during the question and answer session was that Seattle would play host to the NHL All-Star Game sometime in the next seven years.
In total, Bettman estimated that the total financial investment in the city’s team numbered up around $1.5 billion.
That said, there is plenty of ground to cover in the near future in terms of solidifying Seattle’s recently-acquired team.
Still to come at some point in 2019 is the unveiling of a name and logo, a fully-staffed front office for talent acquisition, and information on ticket prices for games that will commence in 2021.
Leiwicke said that a portal for choosing a team name will be rolled out in 60 days. A detailed timeline on that process will be unveiled at that time.
“We’re going to be deliberate, and we’re going to take our time,” he said, emphasizing the importance of a strong brand for the team.
There’s no word as to when exactly this year any of that will be addressed.
You can see the whole conference in the above video.
