The Stranger was pro-arena back in 2012.
The Stranger was pro-arena back in 2012. JAMES YAMASAKI

Multimillionaire Chris Hansen and his investors say they have a new way to bring the NBA back to Seattle—and it won't require a handout from the City of Seattle.

KING 5:

The offer is outlined in a lengthy letter to the Seattle's mayor, the King County Executive, and Seattle City Council members. The letter unequivocally says the group is willing to build the arena "at no cost to the City or the County," a change from the original proposal which called for the city and county to back about $200 million in bonds to fund construction.

Signed by Hansen, Wally Walker, and Pete and Erik Nordstrom outlines the new offer, which is conditioned on the city agreeing to vacate a one-block stretch of Occidental Avenue and the addition of several tax credits.

Under a past funding deal, Seattle and King County bonds would have helped fund the arena. In the letter, Hansen and the others acknowledge that "the economic landscape has changed" since that deal was struck in 2012 and private funding is now more doable. (Though they are still asking for tax breaks.)

In May, the Seattle City Council narrowly rejected a street vacation necessary for the arena, citing concerns from the Port of Seattle about a new arena's impact on jobs there and the bonding plan. Following that vote, the women on the Seattle City Council who voted against the vacation received flood of sexist vitriol and threats.

Hansen's group will still need the street vacation for this new plan, which means the question will come back to the city council.


The Seattle Times has more on what the new plan means for bringing the NBA and/or NHL to Seattle:

By going all-private, Hansen would eliminate the need to acquire an NBA team within a specific time period. His Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the city and county had required the team to be in hand by November 2017.

But by using private money to build, that clock stops ticking and frees Hansen’s group to apply for an NBA team when the league is ready to set its expansion plans in motion. Hansen also could acquire an NHL team in the interim and wait until the NBA is ready to follow.