Chris Hansen says arena building process in Seattle will be a long one – NBA News
Chris Hansen is one man who has given the people of Seattle a new hope about the return of the NBA to their city.
Hansen is leading a group of investors who have presented before the city council plans to construct a new basketball facility in the arena district of Seattle.
The hope is that with an arena on the way, he can go look for a franchise that is thinking of relocating and bring back the NBA to the city, which was home to the Seattle SuperSonics.
The SuperSonics enjoyed great success in the NBA in the 90’s, with players like Ray Allen and Gary Payton having played for the club. The franchise was moved to Oklahoma City in 2008 when the ownership changed. Since then, fans
have been dying to have an NBA team back in Seattle and Hansen has given them the ray of hope.
But, the investor is worried that people will become disillusioned and lose interest in the campaign as the process of bringing a team back to the city will be a long one.
“We keep saying it, and I think people are listening and hearing us say it, but they're probably hopeful it happens before then. I think they're so excited about the prospect of us getting the deal through that they haven't thought
about the patience required on the other end,” said Hansen in an interview with the Associated Press.
Hansen’s arena proposal calls for a $500 million state of the art facility, $300 million of which will be raised privately. The rest of the $200 million would come from taxes and revenues from the arena, and would be paid back
in 30 year bonds. Any franchise willing to move to Seattle will have to sign a non-relocation agreement that lives the life of those bonds.
Hansen has submitted his proposal in front of the Seattle City Council and King County Council and is scheduled to speak before the City council on Wednesday. He held a rally a few weeks ago in downtown Chicago which was attended
by a large crowd to support the construction of the new arena.
Fans took out their vintage SuperSonics jerseys and came to the rally, which was attended by former Sonics legend Gary Payton as well. Hansen announced last week that the investment group he is heading will also include Microsoft
CEO Steve Ballmer, along with Peter and Erik Nordstrom. They are members of a Seattle family that owned the Seattle Seahawks from 1976 to 1988.
Hansen also said that he is not looking for a franchise at the moment as he wants the ground work for the arena to be completed when he goes franchise shopping so he can make a case for the city. He added that he was looking for
a franchise that is looking to relocate rather than buying one and then moving it against the wishes of the fans.
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