Sitting in a Starbucks on the 40th floor of the Columbia Tower, sipping cold coffee from a paper cup, would-be Sonics owner Chris Hansen didn't come off as your stereotypical kajillionaire. "If it was about making money, I would have preferred to have just stayed under my rock and have no one on this earth know about me," the slightly disheveled 44-year-old hedge-fund manager told me about his plans to bring big-league basketball back to Seattle.

In another hour, he'd be standing before TV cameras explaining the details of a half-billion-dollar arena deal. He took another sip of coffee and attempted to explain why.

"Regardless of whether the NBA is a good investment or not," he continued, "my business is a better investment. I'm able to earn higher returns in my existing business with a minimal level of public disclosure and opinion about how I should do things."

So if it's not about the money, and if Hansen is so obviously uncomfortable in the public spotlight, why the hell would he invest up to $800 million in building a new NBA/NHL arena and bringing a couple of franchises to town?

"I'm really passionate about basketball," Hansen explained. "I'm really passionate about it here in Seattle."

You know, hoop dreams and all that. They're dreams that came one step closer to reality after Hansen signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on May 16 with county and city officials specifying the details of a public/private arena proposal that would build a $500 million arena just south of Safeco Field. Chatting about his motivations, his past, and his future plans for the team, a somewhat guarded Hansen couldn't have cut a more striking contrast to the familiar cast of multimillionaire owners out to make a quick buck off of taxpayers (and, yes, I'm talking to you, Paul Allen and Clay Bennett).

A born-and-raised Sonics fan and a graduate of Seattle's Roosevelt High School, snagging himself an NBA franchise would be the culmination of a lifelong dream. Lots of kids fantasize about playing in the big leagues, but "when I was five foot four and starting high school, I knew those dreams weren't in the cards," admitted Hansen, who says that it was during college that his dreams of someday owning the Sonics started to take form. "I thought if I worked really hard in my life, maybe I would have the opportunity to achieve it someday," says Hansen. "And once I became a little more educated and sophisticated about the way these things work... I could see the path to this becoming a reality."

Becoming fabulously wealthy didn't hurt, either.

Under the terms of the MOU, Hansen would sink a sizable chunk of his wealth into building a new half-billion-dollar arena. Then, in what amounts to a deal for the public, he would transfer ownership to taxpayers at a fraction of the cost: $200 million if both NBA and NHL franchises are acquired, or just $120 million if only an NBA team.

Here's how the rest of the deal would work: The city and county would then lease the arena back to Hansen's ownership group at a rental rate guaranteed to cover debt service on the bonds. The teams would cover all maintenance, improvements, and cost overruns; would sign a binding nonrelocation agreement for the life of the city/county bonds; and would designate the city and county as senior creditors in the event of a default. No new tax revenue would be raised other than that on the arena itself.

Compare that to the last deal put on the table by Clay Bennett before he moved the Sonics to Oklahoma City: a $500 million arena in Renton with taxpayers responsible for cost overruns, improvements, maintenance, and all but $100 million of the construction costs, leased back to the team for zero dollars a year.

Hansen's proposal is not without its critics. The maritime industry is banding together to oppose a Sodo arena on grounds it would impact freight mobility at the Port of Seattle. And with half the city council jostling for a mayoral run, few seem eager to give Mayor Mike McGinn a shot from the free-throw line. But from a financing perspective, this is one of the best arena deals a city has been offered in decades.

So why did Hansen drive such a relatively soft bargain? It would be naive to chalk it up to benevolence, and rich guys like him don't get that way by being crappy negotiators. No, Hansen sees an opportunity to grab an NBA franchise now, and everything about this arena deal, from the site to the terms, seems designed to move it along as quickly as possible. "It will take 12 to 15 months before we can put a shovel in the ground," says Hansen in explaining his urgency, and "the farther along in the process, the better position we'll be in" should a franchise become available.

And the better position Hansen will be in to finally realize his boyhood dreams.