Samantha Holloway on Seattle Sports & Entertainment Future: A VNC Fireside Chat

VenuesNow Conference Panel Preview: A New Era for Professional Sports and Entertainment in Seattle, a Fireside Chat with Samantha Holloway Tuesday, Sept. 29 9:45 AM – 10:30 AM | Grand Ballroom A & B at the Sheraton Grand Seattle

Samantha Holloway, majority owner and managing partner of One Roof Sports and Entertainment, will be a featured speaker at VenuesNow Conference in Seattle by taking part in an opening fireside chat moderated by Chris Granger, CEO of Oak View Group ( Pollstar ’s parent company).

Holloway is one of the most influential leaders in Seattle sports. She represents a new generation of sports owners who are building an ecosystem rather than simply owning a team. Holloway is driving the NHL’s Seattle Kraken organization’s broader strategy by developing a model where team and arena ownership, development and community investment are integrated into a single sports/entertainment company.

That’s essentially what One Roof – the parent brand of the Kraken, Climate Pledge Arena, Kraken Community Iceplex, One Roof Foundation, the Memorial Stadium redevelopment and interests in the Coachella Valley Firebirds/Acrisure Arena – represents.

Climate Pledge Arena is an important part of the strategy. Holloway’s group increased its ownership stake in the arena, making it the majority owner, while Oak View Group retained a significant minority interest and continues to operate and book the building.

Having majority ownership of a major sports franchise and its home arena positions Holloway for the future. She is currently the most publicly known potential bidder for an NBA expansion franchise in Seattle, which would potentially revive the SuperSonics franchise.

If Holloway succeeds, she could go from being an important NHL owner to one of the most powerful sports/entertainment figures in the Pacific Northwest. The NBA is expected to decide whether to expand by the end of 2026.

Holloway initially became an investor when the franchise was awarded in 2018 and subsequently became a co-owner and chair of the team’s executive committee, taking over the Kraken’s seat on the NHL Board of Governors in 2022.

Prior to the Kraken, Holloway was a technology entrepreneur. She co-founded GoSpotCheck, a business-software company she helped run for nearly a decade before it was sold.

VenuesNow Conference takes place Sept. 29-30 at the Sheraton Grand Seattle. Produced by Pollstar and presented by Marsh and Oracle, VNC brings together live entertainment, sports, and venue executives to address the industry’s most critical operational, financial, and strategic dynamics.

VNC 2026 follows the inaugural Secure Venues Summit on Sept. 28 at the Sheraton Grand Seattle, which is being launched by Oak View Group & Prevent Advisors. The event is programmed specifically for safety, risk management, and venue operations leaders, and will feature a Keynote address on the “State of Security in America: Trends, Evolution, and Adversaries in Preparation for the 2028 Olympics in LA” by Voviette D. Morgan (SVP, Safety & Security, LA 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games) .

To register for the VenuesNow Conference 2026 or the Secure Venues Summit, visit venuesnowconference.com and securevenuessummit.com .

_Originally reported by [Pollstar](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/09/25/vnc-panel-preview-a-new-era-for-professional-sports-and-entertainment-in-seattle-a-fireside-chat-with-samantha-holloway/)._