Seattle Growth Podcast: Impact of a Sonics Return - Episode 10

Sonic Boom Day is next Monday, April 17th!

Seattle City Council’s Select Committee on Civil Arenas will meet for the first time following the deadline for the KeyArena Renovation Request for Proposals. Limited public comments will be allowed at the committee meeting, but there are many ways to get your voice out to support whichever arena choice you get behind.

You can find a helpful form for your comments when contacting city leaders here.

When reaching out to councilmembers to express your support, be succinct and be respectful. Whatever you feel about the process to choose a new arena, these are the decision-makers. Treating them rudely offers nothing to the effort.

Need to learn more about the various issues surrounding the efforts to build a new arena and return the SuperSonics franchise to Seattle and the NBA? A great new resource has you covered.

Jeff Shulman, associate professor in marketing at UW’s Foster School of Business, hosts a critically-acclaimed podcast exploring and discussing the economic and population growth of the city of Seattle. In its second season, the Seattle Growth Podcast will tackle the impact of a potential return of the Sonics on the city.

Shulman hopes to offer perspective on the team’s and arena’s effects on real estate, traffic, taxes, employment, and the overall community. He’ll be speaking in-depth with residents, business owners, academic experts, city leaders & officials, as well as former Sonics players and owners to help inform the discussion.

We’re happy to present each episode as they become available.

Episode 10: Chris Hansen & Efforts to Bring Back the Sonics

The tenth episode spends time with hedge fund manager and arena/team investor Chris Hansen to talk what’s needed for the arena project in SoDo to become a reality; what he learned from the Kings purchase process; whether hockey-first can work at his group’s planned arena; and his thoughts on relocation and expansion in the NBA.

Also featured is our own Jeff Brown, head of the Bring Back Our Sonics fan community, on the continued effort to rally fans to bring a team back.

Explore more from Episode 10: Chris Hansen & Efforts to Bring Back the Sonics here.