KeyArena struggles to fill vacant Sonics schedule

Those 100 nights that freed up at KeyArena when the Sonics left — most of them are still free.

Without the basketball season as its anchor, KeyArena can expect to book about 30 percent fewer dates each year than in the past, officials said. To pump up its marketing efforts, Seattle Center may hire a professional booking agency to run the arena's calendar.

But so far, replacing game nights with other events has been slow going. Thirty-five dates have been booked since a July 2 settlement allowed the Sonics to head off to Oklahoma City, said Seattle Center spokeswoman Deborah Daoust.

Although the Sonics played only 41 home games each season, KeyArena reserved 100 nights to give the NBA scheduling flexibility. So the Sonics' move to Oklahoma City blew KeyArena's schedule wide open.

After losing both the Sonics and the Thunderbirds minor-league hockey team, which moves to Kent in January, officials said they can now anticipate being able to fill KeyArena 80 to 110 nights out of the year, down from the past estimate of 130 to 160.

The combined deficit from the sports events accounts for 77 nights, so the net loss of 50 reflects the expectation that about 27 can be replaced.

"There's no way we could replace every basketball game we lost," Daoust said.

A renewed marketing push should produce new bookings within the next several months, said City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the council's Parks and Seattle Center Committee.

Because most major concerts are booked two years ahead, July was short notice to start filling dates starting in November, Daoust said.

Since most booking has to be done long in advance, City Council President Richard Conlin said he would expect major progress by early fall, but that wouldn't translate into filling a lot of dates until the beginning of next year.

"In 2009, the arena will be able to actually be returning revenue," he said. "2008 is much more complicated."

In a briefing to the City Council on Tuesday, Seattle Center Director Robert Nellams said the arena can remain profitable by seeking out high-volume, high-margin events. If the arena is dark more often, he said, that doesn't necessarily hurt its profitability because operating costs also shrink.

But that does mean some arena employees, such as ushers and vendors, can expect less steady work, Daoust said. It also could hurt the businesses, especially the restaurants, bordering on Seattle Center who rely on KeyArena events to attract foot traffic to the lower Queen Anne area.

Isaac Arnsdorf: 206-464-2397 or iarnsdorf@seattletimes.com