Report: Bellevue and Tukwila officials surprised by arena talk

King5 reporter Chris Daniels just shot some rather large holes in the recent discussion about arenas being built in either Tukwila or Bellevue.

It is a statement [Gary Bettman's recent remarks] that caught people in Tukwila, and Seattle by surprise, including oft-mentioned owners of potential sites like David Sabey. The longtime Seattle resident and real estate mogul owns an enticing 66-acre piece of land just off Interstate 5 which is "two-thirds in Seattle (city limits) and one-thirds in Tukwila," said Jim Kneeland, a spokesperson for Sabey. He noted an arena is "not the highest and best use for that piece of property."

"(He's) not out trying to sell the site for that purpose," said Kneeland, who added that Sabey is "not interested and not connected" to any current effort.

A Tukwila city official also acknowledged back in December of meeting with that architect multiple times, but also claimed any sort of arena plan was "premature."

Bellevue Mayor Claudia Balducci also said City Hall was surprised to hear chatter about a sports facility. "We're not in discussions with anyone about an Arena," said Balducci.

So we obviously have some kind of disconnect going on here. The things that Geoff Baker have recently reported do not jive with the things that Chris Daniels is being told by some highly relevant parties.

So who are these ownership groups lurking in the background? How serious are they? Have they gone so far as to... you know... talk to people that they need to talk to?

We now await Baker's rebuttal.