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Chris Hansen is not backing down and not changing course. During his interview with KING5's Chris Daniels, Hansen said that the plan is, as it has always been, "to finish the environmental process and get the Arena shovel ready, and we're very close to that. There are not many hurdles left." As far as getting an NBA team, Hansen reiterated his desire to not "go out and be predatory. We're waiting for the right opportunity."
Daniels also spoke to King County Executive Dow Constantine, who said that the plan not only meets I-91 standards, but should end up MAKING the city money. "We are going to as the public, profit from the creation of this, we're going to get back more money than we put up," he said. He also said that Sonics Without Subsidies' claim of $731 in illegal subsidies was "not an accurate number."
Hansen also addressed the possibility of an NHL-first scenario, saying the MOU would not need to be amended as long as a basketball team was procured before the construction on the arena started. "It would only need to be recrafted if the basketball team was not here, by the time we started construction on a new arena. If the hockey team wanted to come here, and play in Key Arena for a couple of years, and wait until we had a basketball team coming, then no it wouldn't need to be recrafted, but to activate the public financing piece, yes," said Hansen. There have also been rumors that Hansen spent the day with Jeremy Roenick, who allegedly wants to be the "face" of a potential NHL franchise in Seattle.
