News
SPORTS ARENA SAGA
April 5, 2012
| Should Chris Hansen's proposed $490M NBA/NHL stadium stay or should it go elsewhere? The San Francisco hedge fund manager's proposal for a new arena in Sodo went 1 for 2 this week, getting a shot in the arm from the citizen Arena Review Panel and a punch in the nose from the Seattle Mariners. |
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| Bad news first: The Mariners don't really want another stadium in Sodo. That was the upshot of a letter M's CEO Howard Lincoln sent Mayor Mike McGinn and other officials this week. (After all, when a new baby arena arrives, the older arenas feel jealous.) Lincoln cited potential traffic and parking problems, as well as scheduling conflicts, and suggested it would be better for everyone if Hansen's project were located somewhere like Bellevue or Renton or South Lake Union (which could work, given that NBBJ architects say Amazon wants a large meeting space). The Port of Seattle wrote a more politely phrased letter, albeit objecting for the same reasons: that two more pro sports teams would clog the Sodo roads for freight cars and trucks, leading to loss of efficiency and jobs. |
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| The panel addressed the Mariners' concerns Wednesday night, but still gave the go-ahead to send their report to the mayor and county executive, who are likely to draw up an agreement with Hansen to be approved by the city and county councils before Hansen can go shopping for sports teams. Seattle-Northwest Securities CEO Maud Daudon, who looked over the numbers for the panel, pointed out that in spite of the difficulties, there's a lot to like. "When a city or county gets an $800M investment proposal, you have to take a really hard look at it," she said. |
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| Urban Visions CEO Greg Smith, who has two large projects in the works in the Pioneer Square area, concedes that parking and traffic mitigation will require further study but believes they can be addressed. Of the plan itself: "It's progressive compared to how arenas have been built in the past. Assuming the new ownership group is financially sound, I believe this is a wise investment by the public." One smart aspect of the agreement is a 30-year non-relocation clause. Could Greg, whose preferred sports team is "anything Husky," be coaxed into a little one-on-one? "Always," he tells us. One potential annoyance Greg foresees is scheduling conflicts an NBA playoff might have with baseball season. "That'd be a great problem," Greg says. (Other cities like Philly have similar situations working out just fine.) For inspiration, here's video of Greg talking up the plan. |
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| Sonics fans who attended the meeting Wednesday night didn't write a letter, but they did make a sign. To them, the score is Chris Hansen 1, Howard Lincoln 0. Chris is quickly reaching celebrity status in Seattle, especially among the Sonics faithful. "He looks a little like Tom Cruise," one fan who saw Chris at an earlier public meeting tells us. |
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| Sonics 1979 championship coach Lenny Wilkens' gave a stadium pep talk. Like any pep talk, it was short, sweet, and well spoken. (Lenny, who co-chaired the advisory committee with former city councilwoman Jan Drago, also has a killer smile, doesn't he?) Want to hear what Lenny sounds like today, here's a quick video. |
