Seattle SuperSonics and Washington Wizards players during a 2007 game. The image has been cropped from the original. Photo by Ibrahim Rustamov/Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.5. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seattle_sonics_dc_wizards.jpg
TULALIP, Wash. — An effort seeking to bring the Seattle SuperSonics back through NBA expansion is drawing new attention across Washington after Tulalip Tribes Vice Chair Deborah Parker publicly welcomed the possibility of the team coming to Tulalip.
“It’s official—and YES, it’s true. We’d love to welcome the Seattle SuperSonics home to Tulalip!” Parker wrote Thursday while sharing a report from The Seattle Times about the developing proposal.
Parker currently serves as vice chair of the Tulalip Tribes Board of Directors. She also serves as president of Quil Ceda Village.
Her comments come several weeks after BlackSun Private Equity, Native World Sports and other partners announced the formation of an ownership group seeking an NBA expansion franchise in the Seattle market.
The group said Aug. 12 that it had submitted a formal proposal aimed at returning the SuperSonics to Washington through expansion. In its public announcement, the group said Tribal Nations would participate as economic partners and decision-makers in the effort.
The initial announcement did not identify the Tulalip Tribes as a partner or publicly identify Tulalip as the location of a future arena. Parker’s comments Thursday, however, publicly show interest from one of Tulalip’s highest-ranking elected leaders in the possibility of welcoming the SuperSonics to Tulalip.
BlackSun has also publicly described a broader vision surrounding a potential NBA franchise that would extend beyond basketball. The group has discussed a year-round sports and entertainment district anchored by an arena, with the possibility of additional restaurants, retail, hotels, public gathering spaces and other development depending on the eventual site and approval process.
That could allow a future arena and surrounding development to remain active beyond NBA game days, including the potential for other sporting events, concerts and entertainment.
The discussion comes as the Tulalip and Marysville area continues to see significant commercial development along Interstate 5.
Dick’s Drive-In announced in June that its next Washington restaurant would be constructed on the Tulalip Reservation across from Quil Ceda Creek Casino. Dick’s said the Tulalip location would expand the Seattle-area chain farther north as it continues growing outside its longtime core market. Construction on the new restaurant is now underway.
The project is the latest addition to an area already home to Tulalip Resort Casino, Seattle Premium Outlets, Cabela’s and numerous restaurants, retailers and entertainment destinations.
Quil Ceda Village has grown into one of northern Snohomish County’s largest commercial and entertainment centers. According to information published by Quil Ceda Village, thousands of people work within the development, which encompasses roughly 2,000 acres along the Interstate 5 corridor.
A potential Tulalip location would also be particularly notable for basketball fans living farther north.
Quil Ceda Village sits directly along Interstate 5, with connections to Bellingham, Mount Vernon and Burlington to the north and Everett and Seattle to the south. For residents of Bellingham, Whatcom County and Skagit County, an NBA venue in Tulalip would allow fans to attend games without continuing farther south into Seattle and navigating the city’s denser street network.
The location also places Tulalip along the primary north-south transportation route connecting the central Puget Sound region with Skagit County, the Bellingham metropolitan area and, farther north, British Columbia.
That geographic position has increasingly made the Marysville-Tulalip area a destination for regional and national businesses as commercial development continues around Quil Ceda Village and surrounding portions of the Interstate 5 corridor.
Any major arena development would also raise transportation questions. The Marysville and Tulalip stretch of Interstate 5 already experiences significant congestion during portions of the day, and an NBA-sized arena would likely require substantial planning involving freeway access, local roads, parking and public transportation.
No NBA expansion franchise has been awarded.
The NBA Board of Governors voted in March to formally explore potential expansion into Seattle and Las Vegas. The league has been evaluating prospective markets, ownership groups, arena infrastructure and the broader financial implications of expanding beyond its current 30 teams.
The BlackSun-led effort is also not the only group interested in bringing an NBA franchise back to Seattle.
One Roof Sports and Entertainment, the organization connected to the Seattle Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena, has also positioned itself to pursue an NBA franchise should the league formally move forward with expansion. The organization is led by Seattle Kraken majority owner and managing partner Samantha Holloway.
The existing Climate Pledge Arena gives that effort a significantly different approach. Rather than developing an entirely new arena and entertainment district, a One Roof-led proposal could potentially center on an existing Seattle venue already used by the NHL’s Kraken and WNBA’s Storm.
The Seattle Sports Commission has also publicly expressed support for efforts to bring NBA basketball back to the city as the league’s expansion process develops.
The competing approaches could eventually give the NBA very different options if Seattle receives an expansion franchise: one centered around an existing major arena in Seattle and another potentially tied to a larger new sports and entertainment development involving Tribal Nations.
For now, the BlackSun proposal remains one of the efforts seeking to return NBA basketball to the Seattle market, while Parker’s public comments have brought Tulalip more directly into the conversation surrounding where a future SuperSonics franchise could potentially call home.
Bellingham Metro News will continue following the NBA expansion process, developments surrounding the potential return of the Seattle SuperSonics and news involving the Tulalip Tribes and northern Puget Sound.
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