KING 5 News Breaking: SoDo sports teams reach event scheduling agreement with Chris Hansen

Chris Daniels of KING 5 News is breaking this story, the major sports teams in SoDo have come to an event scheduling agreement. This was a key issue for Seattle City Council President Bruce Harrell heading into Monday's Full Council vote on the Occidental Avenue street vacation for the proposed SoDo NBA/NHL arena.

The Seattle City Council will announce Thursday it has brokered a deal between the Seattle Mariners, Seahawks, Sounders FC, and Chris Hansen’s Seattle Arena investment group on an agreement to manage time and traffic in Seattle’s SODO neighborhood.  First and Goal, the Washington State Public Stadium Authority, and the Seattle Public Facilities District also had a hand in the negotiations.

The Mariners, in particular, had made the scheduling agreement a key argument in their opposition to the planned arena development, which would be built just south of Safeco Field.

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Two sources with knowledge of the agreement say it is "very comprehensive" and "detailed" and also covers game time easements and access.  It also prohibits late afternoon events that would conflict with the Port of Seattle and Northwest SeaPort Alliance operations.  The agreement also prevents events at Hansen's arena between the hours of 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.  It also calls for a three-hour separation of events between the three potential venues, with some protocols for exceptions, such as for playoff games.

The negotiations have been ongoing for about a week and a half.  Those same sources involved with the negotiations have described the Mariners representatives as "very good" and "fantastic" in hammering out the deal.

Seattle Arena: Seahawks, Sounders, Mariners reach schedule agreement (KING 5)

The agreement will be presented as an amendment to the street vacation legislation and voted on this coming Monday. If the legislation passes then the city will then issue Chris Hansen a Master Use Permit for the SoDo arena property. It is anticipated that arena opponents will sue, but the scheduling agreement with the Mariners, an opponent to the arena, could diminish the claim a lawsuit could have over event traffic.

There was a rumor on Twitter yesterday that an agreement could result in a 6-3 vote to approve the legislation. I think it is possible that the vote could reach 7-2, with Sally Bagshaw and Lisa Herbold as the "no" votes. Regardless, it does appear that the street vacation will be approved on Monday.

Go Sonics!

[This story was edited to add this link to the proposed amendment agreement, here.]