SEATTLE — Kraken Owner Samantha Holloway is setting the stage for a formal pursuit of an NBA expansion team later this week.
On Monday, she announced the formation of One Roof Sports and Entertainment.
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It will serve as an umbrella brand for the Kraken, Climate Pledge Arena, One Roof Foundation, Kraken Community Iceplex, Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center, and the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL, and Acrisure Arena in the Palm Springs Area.
The announcement says this is being done “to enable the pursuit of future opportunities” and gives Holloway greater financial control over the arena, but maintains a partnership with the Oak View Group (OVG).
“We’re committed to this community, and this parent brand brings together everything we’ve done, from a privately financed arena to the Seattle Kraken,” said Holloway in a statement. “Increasing our ownership in Climate Pledge Arena allows us to consolidate operations and sets us up for future opportunities. OVG is an amazing partner, and I am pleased that they will continue to operate the facility for many years to come.”
The timing should not be long for anyone, as it comes 48 hours before the NBA could announce a formal expansion process.
Seattle has long been viewed as one of the NBA’s strongest expansion candidates, in large part because the city already has the history, fan base, and arena infrastructure the league typically looks for. The SuperSonics played in Seattle from 1967 until 2008, when the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City after a prolonged dispute over KeyArena and its lease terms.
That departure never fully severed the city’s connection to the team. In the 2008 settlement between the city and Clay Bennett’s ownership group, Seattle preserved the right to the Sonics’ name, colors, history, and memorabilia for any future NBA team that returns to a renovated arena in the city. The agreement also provided for banners, trophies, and retired jerseys to remain in Seattle and are currently under lock and key and under the supervision of the Museum of History and Industry.
Seattle’s path back to the league has had several false starts. The city came close in 2013, when a Sacramento Kings relocation effort briefly raised hopes that the NBA might return, only for that deal to collapse and the Kings to remain in California.
The deal between Seattle and investor Chris Hansen to build an arena in the city’s SoDo neighborhood near T-Mobile Park and Lumen Field for an NBA franchise also expired without construction.
Since then, expansion talk has surfaced periodically, but without a formal process that is clearly centered around Seattle.
Climate Pledge Arena opened in 2021 after a sweeping $1.2 billion redevelopment of the old KeyArena site, and it is now home to the Kraken, Storm, and Torrent.
The building has also been positioned as a major basketball venue, hosting NCAA championship events, three different NBA exhibition games, and giving Seattle a modern, league-ready arena at the center of any expansion pitch.
Developers have long held a spot for a future NBA locker room in the bowels of the arena, which is currently being used for storage.
League officials have also been signaling for months that expansion talk is becoming more concrete.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in December that Seattle and Las Vegas were the markets most clearly in the mix, and in February, he said the NBA had cleared key hurdles by finalizing its collective bargaining agreement and national media deals.
Silver has also said relocation is not currently on the table, underscoring that Seattle’s route back would come through expansion, not by moving an existing club.
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That is part of why this moment feels different in Seattle. Silver has said the league expects to make decisions on expansion in 2026.
In order for that to occur, Silver would need a vote from 23 of the NBA’s 30 governors. He’s expected to get that this week, to begin the bidding process.
If Seattle and Las Vegas are ultimately added, the league would also have to sort through conference realignment questions, with Western Conference alignment expected to become part of the discussion.
Local leaders have been increasingly public in pressing Seattle’s case. Sen. Maria Cantwell has argued that Seattle’s recent run of high-profile sports success has helped advertise the city to the NBA, while Gov. Bob Ferguson has held conversations with Silver and publicly said he wants the Sonics back.
Ferguson and Silver spoke virtually on Monday, according to the governor’s office.
“It remains a top priority of Governor Ferguson to bring back the Sonics,” Ferguson’s office told KOMO News.
He is scheduled to meet virtually with Silver again today (Monday). Their comments have added to a broader sense that Seattle is trying to present a united political and civic front as the league weighs its next step.
There is also visible interest on the business side.
Silver has said the next phase would involve talking to interested parties and gauging franchise valuation.
Holloway has publicly expressed interest in being involved with a future Seattle NBA team, but there have been quiet whispers in the city about a second group also making an independent bid.
At least two groups have expressed interest in bringing a team to Las Vegas.