Seattle agrees on arena deal

[NanuqoftheNorth]

In this aerial photo taken Aug. 21, 2012, Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, rear, are shown near downtown Seattle. A new arena in Seattle that would be built just south of Safeco Field and that could bring NBA basketball back to the city appeared a step closer to reality as Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn issued a statement late Monday, Sept. 10, 2012, saying he welcomes the news that the Seattle City Council has decided to support bringing basketball back to Seattle.

Photo: Ted S. Warren / AP

Read more: http://www.seattlepi...p#ixzz26VutUonf

Chris Hansen has a ticket to shop.

His list is short: Find an NBA franchise willing to sell and bring professional basketball back to Seattle.

Hansen, the investor trying to build a new arena, said Thursday that the league has been closely watching what's taking place in the Pacific Northwest and a renegotiated memorandum of understanding between Hansen and the city council on the proposed arena goes a long way to easing the league's concerns about Hansen's plan.

"It means a lot to the NBA," Hansen said. "They've been watching very close to what we're doing. I think going in they were very skeptical we would get to this point given our history in Seattle.

"It's a great win for the city with the league."

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019150328_apbknnewseattlearena3rdldwritethru.html?prmid=4939

The plan for the $490 million arena, which also could host an NHL team, represents the best shot at bringing the NBA back to Seattle. The SuperSonics ended their 41-year run here in 2008 and skipped town for Oklahoma City, where they became the Thunder.

Though formal votes are still required, Tuesday's announcement effectively gave Hansen, a San Francisco hedge-fund manager, and his fellow investors, including Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Peter and Erik Nordstrom, of the department store clan, the green light to begin shopping for an NBA team.

The deal calls for $200 million in public financing to be paid back by arena-related taxes and rent. Under new terms announced by the city council, Hansen would double to $30 million the reserves required to be kept on hand in case the arena's finances don't perform as expected.

And at the end of the 30-year use agreement for the new arena, the city could force Hansen to buy it back for $200 million or make him pay to have it torn down should the team move on.

"This agreement could fundamentally change the model of how public-private partnerships involving sports franchises are structured," said councilman Tim Burgess.

http://espn.go.com/n...d-new-nba-arena

Ryanjobe12

As a lifelong Sonics fan, the last 4 years of my life have been terrible. THIS IS THE HAPPIEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE...more

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September 10 2012, 11:18 PM

BLUEandGREEN206

*cue Squatch coming down from the rafters*...more

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September 11 2012, 12:00 AM

marinersblue96

While I am excited about the prospect of the NBA returning to Seattle. I do feel somewhat bad about lying in wait like some type of vulture for another cities team. Then again only Mark Cuban and Paul Allen voted against the Sonics moving to OKC.

But for the fans in Sacramento, Minneapolis and Milwaukee I do feel for you because one of these three cities basketball team will be playing in Seattle in the next 3 years....more

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September 11 2012, 8:03 AM

[Panthers128]

Too many NBA teams. Contraction would improve the quality of the league. Expansion is going to dilute the product.

[NanuqoftheNorth]

Too many NBA teams. Contraction would improve the quality of the league. Expansion is going to dilute the product.

A lot of people agree with you.

These Seattle guys are financially loaded, some of the NBAs current owners claim to be hurting financially. We will see if they can pry a team loose from another city.

If not, they will be great leverage for current NBA owners looking for government handouts to support their dreams of new arenas.

[Herbert The Love Bug]

What would a new Seattle NBA team name be? Would it be the Super Sonics or something cool like the seattle hippies

[NanuqoftheNorth]

What would a new Seattle NBA team name be? Would it be the Super Sonics or something cool like the Seattle hippies

The city of Seattle came to an agreement with the owners of the Sonics when the team wanted to break its lease and move to OK City a few years back that the team name and colors would remain with Seattle.

All the team history though went to OK. Not sure why, other than they just wanted to be dicks about it. Why would OK City want Seattle basketball sports history and memorabilia?

Should be interesting to see how long it takes to pry a team from another city. Could be quick, could take years. Money won't be an issue. These guys are billionaires.

They are also on the prowl for an NHL team. I think they may have more luck in the short term finding one of those teams to buy.

[Hawk]

Key Arena is/was a poo hole and too small to financially support an NBA team these days, so I'm happy for Seattle that they are getting a new arena and can hopefully get a team back...and I'm pretty sure they'd be called the Supersonics again.

As for NHL....I'm thinking there's quite a few cities ahead of them on the list...but they've got a huge population to draw from and an immediate rivalry with nearby Vancouver of course.

Could make for some potentially great, and expensive, weekends to Seattle for Seahawk games if you can add in another game or two!

[iamcline]

New Orleans would love to move to Seattle. :)

[NanuqoftheNorth]

New Orleans would love to move to Seattle. :)

Until earlier this year New Orleans Hornets were indeed a prime cadidate, not so much now.

The New Orleans Hornets and the state of Louisiana on Friday jointly announced a long-term lease agreement that will bind the team to New Orleans Arena through 2024...

There are no escape clauses in the contract, unlike the Hornets' current lease which had opt-out provisions if certain attendance or financial benchmarks were not met.

http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ssf/2012/03/new_orleans_hornets_state_anno.html