The Seattle Kraken ownership group has initiated formal discussions about potential sale or restructuring, three people familiar with the matter said, as the NHL considers expansion scenarios that could reset franchise valuations across the league. The team entered the NHL in 2021 for an expansion fee of $650 million—a record at the time.
The exploration remains early-stage, one person said, with no timeline set for a transaction. The ownership group, led by majority owner Samantha Holloway and private equity principal Tod Leiweke, has not retained bankers. The discussions come as the Kraken navigate their fourth season with middling on-ice results—currently sitting tenth in the Western Conference—and as Climate Pledge Arena, the $1.15 billion venue they share with the WNBA's Storm, faces increased scrutiny over scheduling conflicts and revenue splits.
The timing matters for two reasons. First, the NHL is quietly gauging interest in expansion markets including Houston and Atlanta, conversations that typically compress existing franchise multiples before the next entry fee resets the floor. The Arizona Coyotes sold for $1.2 billion in April 2024 before relocating to Utah; that figure, nearly double Seattle's entry cost three years prior, established a new baseline. Second, persistent rumors about NBA expansion to Seattle—a market that lost the SuperSonics in 2008—create optionality around Climate Pledge Arena's anchor tenant structure. An NBA franchise would command different arena economics and likely require adjustments to the Kraken's venue deal, which currently grants the team exclusive winter dates and a share of naming rights revenue.
Seattle's ownership structure compounds the complexity. Holloway, daughter of late billionaire Jerry Bruckheimer and heir to a Hollywood production fortune, holds the controlling stake but operates alongside 32 minority partners, including Leiweke, Amazon VP David Bonderman's family office, and Macklemore. That partner count—unusually high for a major-league franchise—means any transaction requires navigating competing liquidity preferences and tax strategies. Worth noting: three minority partners have already approached the group about buyout terms, one person said, suggesting some impatience with the team's financial trajectory.
The on-ice product hasn't helped. After a surprise playoff appearance in year two, the Kraken missed the postseason in 2024 and currently sit five points out of a wild-card spot. Season-ticket renewal rates, while not disclosed, are understood to be softer than the club's internal targets, according to a sponsor executive who requested anonymity. The team's local television deal with Root Sports, signed in 2021, pays roughly $25 million annually—a figure that trails several expansion-era comparables and comes up for renegotiation in 2026.
What to watch: whether the ownership group hires Galatioto Sports Partners or Inner Circle Sports, the two banks that dominate NHL sale processes. Typical mandate-to-close timelines run 8-12 months for a clean majority sale, longer if the structure involves a restructuring or partial stake. Separately, the NHL Board of Governors meets in June in Las Vegas; expansion updates, if any, would surface there. Finally, monitor Climate Pledge Arena's event calendar through early 2026—an NBA announcement would almost certainly leak through venue booking holds before any formal league statement.
The Kraken declined to comment. The NHL, through a spokesperson, said the league does not comment on ownership matters. Holloway has not spoken publicly about the franchise's business performance since a brief appearance at the 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend in South Florida, where she sat three seats from commissioner Gary Bettman and left before the skills competition ended.
The takeaway
Seattle's ownership group begins exit exploration five years in, navigating a crowded cap table and softening attendance as NHL expansion talk percolates.
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