Seattle Kraken Tickets

The Kraken in brief: Seattle's expansion team

The Seattle Kraken play home games at Climate Pledge Arena at Seattle Center, with a regular season from late September to mid-April and playoffs from April into June. The team plays in the NHL's Western Conference, Pacific Division, and is the league's 32nd franchise.

The NHL Board of Governors approved a Seattle expansion team unanimously on December 4, 2018. The Kraken name, after the sea monster of Scandinavian legend, was announced in July 2020, and the team played its first season in 2021–22, with a home opener on October 23, 2021. The ownership group is led by Samantha Holloway, Jerry Bruckheimer and Tod Leiweke.

Seattle's hockey history is older than the franchise. The Seattle Metropolitans won the 1917 Stanley Cup, the first U.S.-based team to win it. The Kraken reached the playoffs for the first time in 2023, when a 100-point season led to a first-round series win over Colorado, the defending champion, before a second-round loss to Dallas.

Climate Pledge Arena: an old roof over a new bowl

Climate Pledge Arena, at 334 1st Avenue North, opened on April 21, 1962, as the Washington State Pavilion for the Century 21 Exposition, the same world's fair that produced the Space Needle. Long known as KeyArena, it was rebuilt in a renovation that cost about 1.15 billion dollars and reopened on October 19, 2021. The landmarked roof and curtain walls were kept while about 600,000 cubic yards of earth were dug out below them to make room for a larger bowl. Amazon bought the naming rights in 2020. The arena seats 17,151 for hockey and is shared with the WNBA's Seattle Storm and, since 2025, the PWHL's Seattle Torrent.

The arena numbers its sections in three tiers, a scheme confirmed by fan seat guides and seat-view sites:

• The lower bowl (sections 1–26) surrounds the rink.
• The loge level (sections 101–126) sits above it.
• The upper level (sections 201–226) is the top tier.

Confirm a specific section on the seat map at checkout.

Best seats for a Kraken game

Center ice

Lower-bowl sideline sections at center ice are the premium choice. Middle rows look over the benches and penalty boxes, which run along the sides, and see the whole sheet; the first rows behind the benches see the players more than the play.

The attack-twice end

The home team attacks one end in the first and third periods. A 2023 Sound of Hockey seat guide places the Kraken's attack-twice end in front of lower-bowl sections 3 through 12 and the lower-numbered loge sections, with the visitors' attacking end in front of sections 16 through 25. Confirm on the team's seating chart before you buy, since arrangements can change.

The loge level for value

The loge level is the sweet spot for many fans: high enough to see plays develop, close enough to feel the speed. The same fan guide singles out loge sections 105 to 110, over the Kraken's attacking end, as a value pick.

Upper level cautions

The 200 level is steep. That helps the view but means a tall fan in front can block part of it. The fan guide also reports that rows F and higher in sections 211 to 217 lose sight of the center-hung video boards because of the press box, so fans there rely on smaller screens.

The glass

Glass seats are about sound and speed rather than the clearest view of the far end, and the curved corner glass distorts the picture.

Schedule shape and the games that draw crowds

NHL teams now play an 84-game regular season, 42 at home, after a four-game September preseason. The 2026–27 season runs from September 29, 2026, to April 10, 2027. That season the Kraken also play two games against Carolina in Helsinki, Finland, on November 12 and 14, 2026, so check the home schedule for that month.

• The Vancouver Canucks: the nearest NHL city, a drive up Interstate 5, so Canucks fans can make the trip for a weekend game.
• The Vegas Golden Knights: a fellow recent expansion team and the Kraken's opponent in the 2024 Winter Classic, played before 47,313 fans at T-Mobile Park.
• The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars: the two teams from the Kraken's 2023 playoff run.
• Weekend and holiday dates: Saturday games and the winter holiday stretch draw families and visitors.

Weeknight games against Eastern Conference teams with smaller followings usually offer the widest choice, and resale prices for those dates often ease as puck drop nears.

Getting to Seattle Center: transit pass, monorail and parking

Climate Pledge Arena was built around transit. As of the team's current game-day guide, every Kraken ticket includes a free public transit pass, valid on Link light rail and the Seattle Center Monorail. The common route is Link light rail to Westlake station downtown, then the monorail, a roughly 90-second ride to Seattle Center. King County Metro buses also serve the area. Sound Transit notes that the monorail does not take contactless card payments for regular fares, so use the event pass or an ORCA card.

If you drive, the team lists three garages: the Arena Garage, connected by an underground tunnel and offering EV charging; the 1st Ave N Garage south of the arena; and the 5th Ave Garage on the east side of Seattle Center. Garages empty slowly after a full house, so transit is usually the quicker way home. Details are on the Kraken game-day guide.

Bags, entry and cashless concessions

As of the arena's current guide, each guest may bring one bag, clear or not, up to 14 by 14 by 6 inches, or a small clutch up to 4 by 6 by 1.5 inches. Every bag larger than a clutch, including medical, diaper and clear bags, goes through X-ray screening at the bag lines at entries 1, 8 and 11. Re-entry is not permitted. Check the arena guide for the current policy before you go.

The arena is cashless, and uses Just Walk Out technology, which charges your card or mobile wallet as you leave a stand; Apple Pay, Google Pay and major credit cards are accepted. A reverse ATM on the main concourse near section 4 converts cash to a prepaid card. Tickets are mobile, through the team and arena app. Every GoodSeats order is backed by a 100% guarantee.

Firsts and traditions in a young franchise

On the night of the first home game, October 23, 2021, the Kraken retired No. 32 in honor of the 32,000 fans who placed deposits for season tickets on the first possible day, a nod to the fan campaign that brought the NHL to Seattle. The team's practice home, the Kraken Community Iceplex at Northgate, opened in September 2021 next to a Link light rail station. In October 2022 the team introduced its mascot, Buoy, a sea troll inspired by the Fremont Troll sculpture under the Aurora Bridge. The Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park in January 2024 brought the league's New Year's Day showcase to Seattle, a 3–0 loss to Vegas before a crowd of 47,313.

Sources

• Wikipedia – Seattle Kraken
• Wikipedia – Climate Pledge Arena
• Seattle Kraken – Game Day Guide
• Climate Pledge Arena – Arena Guide
• Sound Transit – Climate Pledge Arena
• Sound of Hockey – Climate Pledge Arena seat guide (2023)
• A View From My Seat – Climate Pledge Arena (orientation)
• Wikipedia – NHL outdoor games
• Wikipedia – 2026–27 NHL season