SEATTLE — The KeyArena sign that has made its way into so many iconic photos of Seattle and was a beacon for the decades-old venue was removed Wednesday.
The sign was lifted piece by piece off the roof of the former arena in lower Queen Anne via helicopter Wednesday evening. It follows the announcement that Amazon has secured the naming rights to the new Seattle Center area.
"It was exciting when it went up," said Ned Dunn, who was watching crews take the sign down. "A lot of great things happened in that building. Now is the time to move on to an exciting new era."
The 1962 World's Fair era roof has historical landmark status and will be preserved. The new arena is being built under it.
The site, and the building which once occupied it, has been called KeyArena for decades, although Key Bank hasn’t paid for the signage since 2010. The city said then that the effort to take down the signage and re-brand wasn't worth the money. The bank secured naming rights in the mid-1990’s when the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics played in the building.
Current arena project lead Ken Johnsen of Oak View Group previously told KING 5 the old Key sign would come down the day the new title sponsor was announced.
Watch the aerials from SkyKING of the sign being removed.
In late June, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced the new arena would be named Climate Pledge Arena "as a regular reminder of the urgent need for climate action."
Amazon became the largest private financial sponsor involved in the arena project. The new moniker and signage is not expected to be put on the roof Wednesday or in the near future.
KING 5 asked Johnsen what might become of the iconic red signs, and he said the company is looking into it.
“I grew up here. I'm attached to the building and its history so we're looking at our options for that, where they may go, but they're important. In the meantime, we're moving forward with the Climate Pledge Arena name," he said.
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Meanwhile, contractors at the nearly billion-dollar Seattle Center arena site have begun pouring the concrete for the new bowl. Construction was only paused for a few days earlier this year as the coronavirus pandemic started to spread across the country.
Mortenson and NHL Seattle have suggested a target competition date over the summer of 2021. A new NHL franchise is scheduled to begin play in the new arena.
