[19] Arena finances were bolstered for several years by a payment following the settlement with the SuperSonics in 2008, but the lower level of activity and revenue during the time between the departure of the team and the arrival of the NHL left little reserve beyond basic building maintenance.

Upon the opening of the new Kingdome in 1976, which first hosted the NFL's Seahawks and NASL's Sounders followed by MLB's expansion Mariners in 1977, the Sonics would begin playing a small number of home games at the stadium.

Heavy relocation rumors began to circulate, amongst them a potential move to San Diego[30] or possible sales to groups in other markets like Milwaukee or Toronto.

To sweeten the offer, Ackerley sold city leaders on the idea that the new arena in SoDo could also attract a National Hockey League club.

The NHL briefly flirted with relocating the Pittsburgh Penguins to Seattle (and the California Golden Seals to Denver) to address a troubled market and fill the expansion commitment, but ultimately kept the team there.

Eventually, the Seattle franchise award was rescinded altogether when the potential ownership group was unable to secure the funds for the expansion fee.

In July 1990, the city council approved a deal for a privately owned $100 million facility to be built on the Ackerley land in SoDo, despite objections over traffic and parking by the Seahawks and Mariners in the neighboring Kingdome.

Another selling point of the new arena were luxury suites, a means to attract corporate money and sponsorship that was then an emerging new revenue stream for sports team owners.

The plan proved possible and it was found that the compression ring holding the roof could be preserved, saving $15 million in cost and keeping the facility seismically sound against earthquakes.

In 2001, ownership of the Seattle SuperSonics (who had called KeyArena home on-and-off since their establishment in 1967) transferred from Barry Ackerley to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.

Schultz claimed that in the five years he owned the SuperSonics, the team suffered heavy financial losses, which led him to seek funding from the Washington State Legislature for a newer, more modern arena.

The sale to Clay Bennett's ownership group, Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC) for $350 million[42][43] was approved by NBA owners on October 24, 2006.

[49] The limitation of tax dollars that could be spent on the arena, combined with earlier losses under recent ownership groups, "likely doomed the Sonics' future in the city".

[55] On October 31, 2007, Bennett informed NBA commissioner David Stern that the ownership group intended to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City as soon as it was legally possible.

The timing of the announcement, one day after the Sonics' home opener, drew critical comments from Tom Carr, Seattle's attorney, who said "Mr. Bennett's announcement today is a transparent attempt to alienate the Seattle fan base and follow through on his plan to move the team to Oklahoma City ... Making this move now continues the current ownership's insulting behavior toward the Sonics' dedicated fans and the citizens of the city.

[57] In the midst of the lawsuit, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer offered to pay half of a $300 million renovation of KeyArena; the rest to be provided by the city and county.

[58] However, when the state legislature did not give approval for the county to provide funds by an April 10 deadline, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said that the effort had failed and the city's hopes rested in its lawsuit.

The newly renamed Oklahoma City Thunder would retain the franchise history of the SuperSonics, which could be "shared" with any future NBA team in Seattle.

[70] In January 2012, ESPN.com reporter Scott Burnside said KeyArena "would be entirely acceptable", as a temporary venue for an NHL franchise, depending on a future arena plan.

Conversely, in February 2012, SB Nation columnist Travis Hughes said that while it made "too much sense" for the NHL not to put a team in Seattle in the future, KeyArena was completely unsuitable even as a temporary facility due to the same problems with sight lines that ultimately forced the Thunderbirds to move out.

[76] From 2014 to 2017, American video game developer Valve hosted The International, the world championship for Dota 2 eSports, at the venue, which featured prize pools of over $20 million in 2016 and 2017.

The team played its usual summer schedule at KeyArena in 2018, beginning in mid-May and continuing through the playoffs in early September; they ultimately won the 2018 WNBA Finals.

[94] On September 25, 2018, the proposed $700 million renovation of KeyArena was approved unanimously 8–0 by the Seattle City Council and signed into legislation by mayor Jenny Durkan.

Although some design changes and additions had contributed to the increase in cost, OVG replaced the general contractor, Skanska Hunt, with Mortenson Construction.

[107] During redevelopment, the arena's existing roof was "detached from 20 original concrete Y-columns and four gigantic buttresses that previously supported it", being held up by "72 temporary steel columns, cross-beams and a steel reinforcement structure called a kickstand.” 600,000 cubic yards of dirt were removed during the excavation of the arena bowl, and the structure was then built upwards to connect with the roof.

[108] Climate Pledge Arena was opened to the public on October 19, 2021, by a Foo Fighters and Death Cab for Cutie concert for local charities.

[110] The first sports event at the renovated arena, a Seattle Kraken regular season game, took place on October 23 against the Vancouver Canucks.

[112][113] On January 5, 2025, the first Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) game in Seattle was played at the arena between the Montreal Victoire and the Boston Fleet.

[126] In December 2013, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis became the first Seattle-based act ever to play three consecutive shows at KeyArena when the duo concluded their 2013 World Tour in support of their album The Heist.

The post-renovation Climate Pledge Arena is 740,000 square feet (69,000 m2) and has 17,100 seats in its ice hockey configuration, with higher capacities for other events.