KeyArena project to cost at least $900 million; completion expected in summer 2021

SEATTLE -- Ken Johnsen, a construction executive with the Oak View Group slated to bring NHL hockey to Seattle, guided local media through what is very much now an active construction site. Excavators were all around KeyArena. Window glasses had been taken out from the exterior, and dirt and rubble were as common all-round as rain is to the city.

One glance up toward the ceiling inside the under-construction arena and one could see the signature, iconic rooftop very much in tact. Look anywhere below that? It's a massive work of progress.

This transformative, privately-funded project is way more expansive than what may meet the eye from outside.

"Many people still think this is a renovation," NHL Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke explained in a formal press conference. "It's not a renovation. We're maintaining a historic roof ,but this is a brand-new building under that historic roof."

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Local media on Tuesday were given the first public tour of the work being done on the ground of the KeyArena project -- what will house the new NHL team in two years, along with the WNBA's Seattle Storm; And maybe one day, too, bring the Sonics back to Seattle.

Leiweke said the expected cost of the project is now "north of $900 million," with the cap around $930 million. The project was initially believed to cost around $600 million with a completion date of October 2020. The new target is the early part of summer in 2021, around the time the Storm will begin their '21 season. The fall 2021 expected debut for the hockey team won't be impacted, Leiweke confirmed.

He added that the construction company tasked with the project, Mortenson, is "financially-incentivized" to hit the summer 2021 deadline.

"The project is definitely costing more than we thought and it's taking a little bit longer, but it is with great satisfaction that we're here today saying we're ready to go," Leiweke said. "We're building something special.

"To be leading a project like this, in this community, at this time, with the dream of having NHL hockey and world-class music events and someday the NBA, it's worth it."

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Johnsen said the group will have a more exact date for completion in about the year. From now until early 2020, he explained, the base of the arena will be the focus -- digging and working on the underground utilities. Mortenson will be excavating 600,000 cubic yards down to lay the foundation for the subterranean stadium.

The goal is to create a bowl-shaped arena, with the belief being that it would maximize the sense of intimacy in the fan experience. People will be walking down to most of the seats in the stadium, as opposed to walking up to. For NHL games, the new arena will sit around 17,300 fans.

There will be also several built-in concession areas where fans can still easily watch the game action.

"Everyone (on the NHL Seattle team) knows we're building what we believe -- and I believe this -- the best arena in the country," Johnsen said.

Leiweke praised all those that have helped the project, inside and outside the NHL Seattle group, officially get to the point of construction.

"This project has taken courage from day 1," Leiweke said. "Most people actually thought this arena was dead. If that was the case, than Seattle Center had a significant issue of what to do. So from Day 1 for this project, the common denominator was courage -- courage of architects to say, 'no, it could work,' courage of the engineers, courage from the city to enter in a public-private partnership, courage of the owners to fund.

"We've hit a really important moment here of getting the GNP done and now really getting under way. When you see this building get commissioned as it is, and then think that in two years we're going to be standing in one of the finest facilities in all of North America, the wait was worth it."

Ben Arthur is a sports reporter for the SeattlePI. He can be reached by email at benjaminarthur@seattlepi.com. Follow him on twitter at @benyarthur.