HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2020-4658

HR 4658

ByRepresentatives MacEwen, Callan, Lovick, Ybarra, Tarleton, Hoff, Boehnke, Mosbrucker, Dent, Appleton, Frame, Barkis, Klippert, Ortiz-Self, Tharinger, and Wylie

WHEREAS, Seattle's first professional ice hockey club began play in 1915 as one of four teams in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, a league founded in British Columbia in 1912; and 

WHEREAS, The club was named the Metropolitans, after the company that constructed the original Seattle Arena, the indoor ice rink that would be the team's home; and

WHEREAS, The Metropolitans became league champions in just their second season, which entitled them to play for hockey's ultimate trophy, the Stanley Cup, in 1917; and

WHEREAS, By besting the champion of the National Hockey Association, the Montreal Canadiens, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first United States team to capture the Stanley Cup; and

WHEREAS, The Metropolitans continued to affirm Seattle's place in hockey history by vying again for the Stanley Cup in 1919 and 1920, before disbanding after the 1923-24 season; and

WHEREAS, A succession of Seattle hockey teams, from the Eskimos, Sea Hawks, Olympics, Ironmen, and Stars, to the Bombers, Americans, Totems, Breakers, and Thunderbirds, ensured that professional and high-level amateur hockey was rarely missing from Seattle in the ensuing decades; and

WHEREAS, In 2017, a century after the Seattle Metropolitans brought the Stanley Cup to America for the first time, the prospect of bringing a National Hockey League franchise to Seattle began to show renewed promise; and

WHEREAS, In early 2018 a prospective ownership group in Seattle made application for a National Hockey League expansion team, and on March 1, 2018, in twelve minutes the team received more than 10,000 deposits for season tickets with 32,000 deposits received in the first twenty-four hours proving that Seattle, Washington State, and fans around the world support an expansion franchise in Seattle; and

WHEREAS, Following the excellent support shown by NHL Seattle's fans, on December 4, 2018, the National Hockey League approved a Seattle expansion franchise as its thirty-second team; and

WHEREAS, With the rebuilding of the team's future home at the historic Seattle Center Arena under way, and the groundbreaking for a practice facility, team headquarters, and Seattle's first three sheets of ice in north Seattle's Northgate close at hand, the infrastructure to support the new team will continue to come together in 2020; and

WHEREAS, NHL Seattle hired Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Ron Francis as its first General Manager; and

WHEREAS, NHL Seattle further made history by hiring Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Cammi Granato to be one of its professional scouts, making her the first female scout in the history of the NHL; and

WHEREAS, A century since a professional Seattle hockey club last competed for the Stanley Cup, fans of the sport are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the new team's name, the selection of additional staff, and the drafting of players ahead of the first drop of the puck in 2021;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State House of Representatives acknowledge and celebrate the impending arrival of Seattle's new hockey team, and the dawning of a new chapter in Seattle professional sports that is sure to bring even more attention, entertainment opportunity, and economic activity to the state of Washington; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives to Seattle Hockey Partners, also known as NHL Seattle.