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NHL ticket drive in Seattle gets off to hot start

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, right, shakes hands with Los Angeles-based Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke after they signed an agreement to renovate KeyArena, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017, in Seattle. Durkan said that the deal is the best path right now for Seattle to get an NHL team and bring back the SuperSonics. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Photo: Associated Press/Elaine Thompson

SEATTLE (AP) — Apparently, sports fans in Seattle are ready for the NHL.

The group looking to bring an expansion team to Seattle for the 2020 season said it surpassed 25,000 ticket commitments in two hours after kicking off its season-ticket drive on Thursday. The season-ticket drive is one the steps required by the NHL as part of the expansion process and is meant to gauge the interest in the market. Fans were required to put down a deposit of $500 per ticket or $1,000 for club tickets.

If the first day is any indication, Seattle and Oak View Group will have no problem demonstrating the desire for an NHL franchise in Seattle. By comparison, a similar season-ticket drive to gauge the interest in Las Vegas took two days to reach 5,000 deposits and a month to reach 9,000.

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