Mayor McGinn: City Council agrees to support arena deal
SEATTLE -- The man who wants to bring professional basketball back to the Emerald City is one step closer to fulfilling his dream.
After months of haggling over details, the Seattle City Council has finally agreed to support developer Chris Hansen's plan to build a new sports arena in the SoDo neighborhood, according to Mayor Mike McGinn.
A spokesman for the council would not confirm any details Monday night, but said there would be an official announcement on Tuesday.
On Monday night, McGinn released a statement about the historic agreement.
"I welcome the news that the City Council has decided to support bringing basketball back to Seattle," he said. "Executive Constantine and I negotiated a proposal with Chris Hansen, an Arena Review Panel vetted it and the County Council approved it."
McGinn called the council's support the "last piece of the puzzle," and said while there's more to be done, "Sonics fans have a reason to smile today."
After months of haggling over details, the Seattle City Council has finally agreed to support developer Chris Hansen's plan to build a new sports arena in the SoDo neighborhood, according to Mayor Mike McGinn.
A spokesman for the council would not confirm any details Monday night, but said there would be an official announcement on Tuesday.
On Monday night, McGinn released a statement about the historic agreement.
"I welcome the news that the City Council has decided to support bringing basketball back to Seattle," he said. "Executive Constantine and I negotiated a proposal with Chris Hansen, an Arena Review Panel vetted it and the County Council approved it."
McGinn called the council's support the "last piece of the puzzle," and said while there's more to be done, "Sonics fans have a reason to smile today."
Let's do this! Hopefully we can get an NHL team sooner rather than later, but at least a Basketball team would be a good start!
This is exciting! On a side note, it looks like the roof of Safeco could use a paint job.
This is exciting! On a side note, it looks like the roof of Safeco could use a paint job,Â
Traffic is already terrible on game days with two stadiums. It's going to be nightmare now. Sports should not take precedent over port traffic and commerce.
 @newsgeek Read the studies. And besides, what about the rest of Seattle? Traffic already sucks without the Stadiums, another isn't going to make that much of a difference.
 @newsgeek That's why the MoU was adjusted to put 40 million towards SoDo traffic improvements. Also there will be few dates with conflicting schedules.
This is the best possible deal for all involved!
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All the naysayers and whiners can go pound sand!
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SuperSonics are coming back!!
Ok lets see it built and how long it takes to get a NBA and NHL team into, not holding my breath on this one after all we're still talking about Clown Town..
 @Windowseat The only clowns around here are the dolts who continue to make comments without even reading or trying to understand the agreement, or proposal.
@Windowseat  An NBA team will have to agree to move to Seattle before one shovel hits the ground. It protects everyone that way. Key Arena will be used as a temporary venue during construction of the new arena. The NHL will NOT come to Seattle until the arena is finished since there is no acceptable (per NHL standards) venue to temporarily use during construction.
Please people try to be informed when commenting. The TAX $$ being used to build this arena are from taxes derived directly from the new arena, i.e. ticket sales, advertising, parking and concessions, and the $4.00 to $10.00 which will be added to property taxes to all King Co residents. We do this and the city gets a half billion dollar arena. That is right THE CITY OF SEATTLE will be the owners of the arena and the land it sits on. As well as having someone else pay for the renovation of the garbage dump that is Key Arena, paying for improvements to roadway projects around SoDo(which has been a known problem for 20 years, yet the council decided to take money already allotted for this project for the Mercer street improvements).
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We would be fools to turn down Chris Hansen's proposal, just like we were fools to turn down the governments offer to build a mass transit system in Seattle in the early '70's which went to Atlanta. I have been visited Atlanta many times and MARTA is one of the best systems in the country.
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Lets finally be a CAN DO city instead of the usual DON'T HAVE A CLUE city.
Now isn't this a huge surprise.
Wow!   The Seattle Mayor and the City Council did something right fo once! Oh yes and you Seattle and King County criers of tax foul. If it's so bad in Seatte why don't you just move!
And McBike flip flops as he negotiates special bike lanes to the new arena and at least 2000 spots to park your bike and special discounts for Bike to Basketball nights and free Bike Lock night and Free Chain Lube nights and ....
@Truth Percolates  Um, you somehow forgot to blame Obama for this one. Come on! It's an election year! I expect better from you.
Just when I thought Seattle could not do anything dumber...they totally redeem themselves! More traffic...yet another reason to stay away from Seattle even more!
 @Freespeech Read the revised MoU. Then you can speak.
 @Freespeech Good thing this will dump 40 million into the infrastructure. Read up on what's going on. KTHXBAI.
Hey,
Anybody care about our city streets not being repaired, people dying because of the lack of funding of our police force, prison guards loosing their jobs due to lack of funding and on to infinity. We are the ones being suckered here and we let it happen again and again so when everything does fall apart you, not me will be looking back asking WHY? Let's make sure McGinn does not get re-elected we cannot afford what is being done to Seattle as it is. Let's stop the side stepping now and thing about the future.
@bille57182 the taxes on this should help all that you hail wrong with our doomed city.
@bille57182  <SIGH!> No money is being diverted anywhere. The point is that the only thing the city and county is going to hand over are MUNICIPAL BONDS. If you don't know what they are, Google it and be informed.Â
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Now, if you as a Seattle Citizen want to have more money offered for the programs you mentioned, then please head over to city hall and demand that your taxes be raised. What? You're not going to do that? What a surprise.
 @path_tech These people haven't figured it out by now they never will.  This is an amazing investment for the city now and in the future.  Hanson has just as much if not more to lose than the city does.
 @path_tech Municipal bonds - money borrowed against the future by a government entity which will be paid back WITH interest.  Who's on the hook for paying them off?  Certainly NOT Hanson - his name will not be on those promissory notes.  Nope, the taxpayers of the City of Seattle.
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It is anticipated that tax revenue from the proposed stadium will pay those bonds off. Â However, if sales don't go as expected, or the team really sucks and does not draw the crowds, will the team owners step up and hand over their money? Â I think not.
 @sumner son  @path_tech Actually his group would be on the hook if payments aren't made.
@sumner son @path_tech  Well, keep on thinking negative then. Did the taxpayers get shafted with Safeco Field? No. In fact, the bonds were paid off four years early.
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No investment is without risk. However, in terms of funded stadiums and arenas, every expert out there says there has been no sweeter deal offered by an invester/owner. Chris Hansen is not a Clay Bennet, I seriously doubt he came here to shaft the city and the county.
Yay! Another money pit that some rich folks want and taxpayers can't afford now! Seems like McGinn has become the developers best friend lately. Too bad he can't do anything about the sky high rents in this town or the obtuse taxes. Remind me, do we even have a basket ball team yet, and exactly how much money, that the taxpayer doesn't have, going to cost him/her.
Just let Hanson and his buddies come up with the rest of the money, and that would be fine. Â He wants to build it? Go right ahead. Â But don't look to the taxpayers of Seattle to fork over their hard-earned money so you can make a profit.
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Amazing how people who complain over a $5 cup of coffee or $4 gasoline have no qualms about giving a private party $200-$300 million so they can be assured of making a profit at taxpayer expense.
@sumner son  No taxpayer money is being fronted to pay for this arena. Please read up on "Municipal Bonds".  Also, look up how Safeco Field was paid off and find me an example where tax payers fronted the project.Â
@path_tech What about the fact that you have to go back to 1979 to find a winning basketball team. There is no reason seattle will have another one.
 @Klondiko  @path_tech How's the weather under that rock? Where were you in the 90's?
@Klondiko  That is off topic. However, I'll induldge you on this:
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You don't have to have a championship team every year to have a fanbase. You need a team that competes, plays to win, and an ownership that does not alienate the fanbase (like Bennett did intentionally) year after year.Â
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Yes, the Sonics should strive for a championship every year. But expecting them to win it every year would be unrealistic. The Sonics used to have a solid fanbase. I'm guessing that half of them are still out there waiting. The rest will come when we (and will) get a team back in Seattle.
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 @Klondiko  @path_tech No you don't, maybe a championship team but they had many successful winning seasons after 1979 including a finals appearance against the Bulls.
Alright, let me say right off that I'm not much of a basketball fan. But there are a hell of a lot of Seattlites that are.
This deal comes only a couple of days after Hanson has announced that he has enough land to build his stadium and that the Seattle City Council better get on board.
I know a lot of folks in Seattle are still ticked off about Safeco Field and Seahawk Stadium. Well, speaking as a Tacoma native who got a toll bridge he didn't want because of Seattle votes, well, that's what you get for living at the regional hub, folks. Seattle pretty much own Olympia and the rest of the state has been paying for Seattle and King County's commute for over 15 years now, so hush up. This is one of the best deals any city in the country has gotten from a private developer to bring a team to town.
Hanson is personally on the hook for about 70% the total facility cost, has to pay for road improvements in SoDo, AND has to pay to see to it that Seattle Center is still used. [Here's a thought Seattle Center... BUILD PARKING!] And all this is BEFORE Hanson has to go to David 'Screw the Sonics' Stern and try to get a team so he can make his money back.
Chris Hanson is just as much a Seattle booster as Paul Allen is and wants the city to improve and shine. Now let's see if 'Granola McSchwinn' and that snake pit of City Council can pull it's special interest lobbies out of second gear...
As a fellow Tacoma resident I couldn't have said it better.
We built Safeco field and paid it off.
We built Centurylink field and are paying it off.
We can build a new basketball/hockey arena and pay that off.
This is a capital project that will only enhance the City of Seattle.
Sometimes capital projects like this are built in the most difficult of times and when historians look back they will wonder how they did it.
By the way who do you think is paying for the new tunnel? As a state resident we all are not just the people in Seattle so don't think you have to pay for everything in your City.
...cuz if you have a little cash $$ you can do whatever the eff you want to around here.
@bagsofdirt As opposed to what? We [the Puget Sound area] aren't the only part of the country with essentially corrupt zoning boards, after all.
Hanson is on the hook for something like 70% of the total bill, plus the cost of buying an NBA team under Commissioner David 'Screw Seattle' Stern. It isn't as if the guy [Hanson]Â isn't spending the money for this.
@svensson ...as opposed to no due process whatsoever. Screw the ports opposition. Last I heard, the best place for a new stadium was near Sand Point.
 Sure, we oughta let him build it now.....if he pays for surrounding infrastructure improvement as well.
 Been paying attention to the budget cuts? All this, just for basketball, now? Really?
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 @bagsofdirt  @svensson Sand Point? Are you kidding? What a HUGE logistical mistake THAT would be. Or are you also proposing a new freeway spur and mass transit to the site?
Everybody who is for this stadium be prepaired when they announce that we the tax payer have to pay for the stadium. Nobody can tell me that this guy will pay for that too.
 @Akire Hansen has pledged 290 million in private money, the arena revenue should be sufficient to pay off the bonds ie debt, resulting in no risk to the tax payers.
 @hinterland @Akire ...and I got some ocean front property in Nevada you just have to see!
Great, now get out of the way Seattle city council and your business killing ideas/political roadblocks. This is good on every level, jobs, move revenue for your city and best of all the Sonics will hopefully be back home.
Guess miracles do happen. It's about damn time!
Some crazy guy rich guy has agreed to pay for most of it, let's just enjoy the ride.
Wow! Now wait for the announcement that Seattle can't do it alone and needs the rest of us (non-Seattle) folks to have to pay for it. Seattle has done it before.Â
 @Michael E. Campbell I doubt it!
Another venue where all Seattle residents will be paying police overtime for traffic control on game days...yea.Â
 @Citizen#3457899654 there is traffic control... I couldn't see them through all the traffic...
It sounds like this will be built at about the same time that the viaduct will be coming down, and the tunnel is being completed...
Be sure you have reading material in your car for the traffic jams...
This is going to be worth the trip from New York when it is built! :D