Key Arena is the primary home for the Sonics, Seattle’s (at least for now) NBA franchise. It is also the home for the Thunderbirds, a minor league hockey team. I recently had the opportunity to catch a Thunderbirds game from the Bank of America luxury suite in Key Arena. I was psyched up for this; imagining some lavish creature comforts and just an overall new experience.
Boy was I in for a surprise.
From the looks of it, you would think that Key Arena was built to host minor league hockey and not an NBA team. The luxury suites, where more teams make a large percentage of their game revenue, are small, bare, and lack anything except for slightly more comfortable chairs, that would indicate you are paying out your nose. You are not walled off from the fans below you, in fact they are only about 10 feet directly in front of the suite. Nor is there adequate wallage on the sides, as you can easily make yourself noticeable to the neighbouring suites.
I cannot fathom why anyone would actually pay face value for these suites. No wonder the Sonics make jack shit from Key Arena. And that’s before you factor in their hose job of a lease agreement.
