Seattle city council approves plan for new arena in hopes of bringing back the NBA
The city of Seattle has moved one step closer to having an NBA team back in town, after Chris Hansen’s plan of building a new area in downtown Seattle was approved by the city council here on Monday.
City Council members agreed to put up $200 million for the new arena that is going to cost around $490 million, after Hansen promised to personally guarantee the city’s debt.
"I was a skeptic when this came forward because I was worried about our taxpayers. The fact that we have a personal guarantee from Mr. Hansen, that makes a big difference. At the end, we're going to have something the city is proud
of,” Councilwoman Sally Bagshaw said after the meeting.
Seattle had an NBA team up till 2008, when the Seattle SuperSonics were moved to Oklahoma City to become the Thunder. Hansen, who now resides in San Francisco, is a Seattle native and a big fan of the SuperSonics. He was one of
the early investors in Facebook, and now runs a hedge fund. He met the Seattle mayor, Mike McGinn, last year in hopes of returning the NBA to the city.
The proposed arena site in right next to the Seahawks and Mariners stadium near downtown, and the public financing will be repaid by arena related taxes.
Hansen had initially agreed on a deal with the Mayor’s office, but it met resistance by the City Council who were afraid that the new arena would create transportation problems in the area, which is a crucial shipping corridor
owing to the fact that the city port is right next to it.
However, in his revised proposal, Hansen pledged $7 million for KeyArena improvements and put in some more money to improve the transportation network of the area. He also agreed to buy the arena back for $200 million at the end
of the 30 year use agreement.
"I want to thank all of Seattle's elected officials and their staffs for their willingness to roll up their sleeves and work with us to get us to this point. Today's vote demonstrates that by listening to each other and working
hard to address the concerns of all stakeholders that we can make the arena a reality,” said Hansen in a written statement after the meeting.
The King County council had already approved the original deal but will be required to approve the new deal as well, for it to move forward.
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