Big win for the city. My understanding of their strategy is that they basically need to win one or two of about 6 battles, eminent domain, venue, judge,interpretation of law, and arbitration eligibility. They can lose several without worry so long as they win one If Clay loses a single one of those major battles he gets between a rock and a hard place, the most specific being whether this is arbitration eligible.
It sounds like there is a very good chance that the judge makes a ruling from the bench today. Not a slam dunk, but greater than 50/50. By this afternoon this could have been determined non-arbitration eligible which will be a huge win for the city.
Yesterday was a day that was simply packed full of gossip and talk on this subject. I wish I could share the details with all of you and continue to offer the disclaimer that I'm getting really frustrated that nobody wants to go public with the things they are working on. People continue to tell me that the mayor is working MUCH harder than he lets on and Pete VonReichbauer has really picked up this cause. There are expectations of some significant private contributions to a new arena that could be announced fairly soon.
I get tired of saying "there is lots of action behind the scenes" but that simply is the reality of the situation. Don't get discouraged. Nothing public will happen in the next 30 days, nothing before the October 31 deadline, and likely not much until after the litigation settles but you can't let that discourage you. Remember how desperate things had to get before the Mariners and Seahawks deals got done. This situation will feel just as hopeless in the hours before it finally gets done.
Reading the article above I find myself wondering how they can make the claim that they should be allowed to leave "because nobody cares" and then ask to change the venue "because people care too much" all in the same article. Crazy stuff...