"The opportunity to bring NHL hockey to King County is one we should not miss."

Much like Mayor Ed Murray before him, King County Executive Dow Constantine has expressed a willingness to support a modification in the MOU between the city of Seattle and arena investor Chris Hansen. Constantine echoed Murray's openness to an NHL-first amendment to the current agreement but, like Murray, reiterated that the numbers would have to pencil out financially.

In a statement released late Wednesday evening, Constantine said "The opportunity to bring NHL hockey to King County is one we should not miss. I am open to modifying the arena MOU if there is a proposal that is self financing, protects the public from financial risk, and does not rely on any new taxes. These principles guided the development of our existing MOU, and I remain committted to securing both an NBA and NHL team for our region, regardless of the order in which they arrive."

This is similar to what Mayor Murray said to KING5 last month, when he said "I believe there could be an adjustment for an NHL team first if there if a financial plan that pencils out for the city." The current agreement will only allow the public funding mechanism to go into effect if an NBA team is secured.

While Constantine has long been an advocate for the SoDo arena project, this is the first time he has vocalized support for an NHL-first modification. The more political support the better, and it's clear that both Constantine and Murray want to see this project through to the end.