Sonics Rising: All Posts by Matt TuckerThe sane voice of the Sonics' return to Seattlehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/51481/sonicsrising-fav.png2018-10-10T16:42:39-07:00https://www.sonicsrising.com/authors/matt-tucker/rss2018-10-10T16:42:39-07:002018-10-10T16:42:39-07:00Seattle would immediately be a “top 10 NBA city,” says Jeff Van Gundy
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<figcaption>Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The ESPN analyst also says the opportunity would be instantly appealing to coaches the moment a team returns to the Emerald City</p> <p id="FB9ogW">In Jeff Van Gundy’s eyes, Seattle would be a top 10 NBA city “the moment they got brought another franchise.”</p>
<p id="2fCzTl">Speaking with <a href="http://sports.mynorthwest.com/category/podcast_player/?a=26c151c1-e6ed-43d5-8ab0-a974011b13bf&sid=1007&n=Brock+and+Salk">710 ESPN Radio’s Brock Huard and Mike Salk</a> on Tuesday, the ESPN analyst said the NBA would be “better served” by having a team back in the Emerald City.</p>
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<p id="5ykmKZ">“There’s so many cities that don’t support (their NBA teams). Just look at the bottom 10 of attendance figures in the NBA, and you can figure out really quickly which would be better served having a franchise in Seattle.”</p>
<p id="csWuao">“[…] If you just look at so many of the teams who perpetually don’t draw – I just don’t understand for the life of me why the NBA, when it has a vibrant, proven NBA city like Seattle, wouldn’t have more urgency to get a team back there. It just seems like they’ve been slow-walked this whole time and I just don’t think it’s right.”</p>
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<p id="XybL4h">Van Gundy, a former coach in the NBA, says the new Sonics gig would be immediately attractive to coaches, <a href="http://sports.mynorthwest.com/532417/van-gundy-seattle-top-10-nba-city/">Brent Stecker of 710 ESPN summarizes</a>.</p>
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<p id="BHCqD0">“Anybody who could get a job in Seattle would limit their other opportunities just to have that chance.”</p>
<p id="mb8U6b">“To have that ability to go back for a preseason game and have it feel like a playoff game in so many other cities makes you remember what you’re missing. Believe me, whenever you get an NBA team, you’ll have like an avalanche of people trying to be their next coach.”</p>
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<p id="oUlc08">Brock and Salk had Van Gundy on to talk about the impact of last Friday’s preseason game in Seattle between the <a href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/">Golden State Warriors</a> and the <a href="https://www.sactownroyalty.com/">Sacramento Kings</a>. He said the “overwhelming response” was something you would expect from Seattle basketball fans.</p>
<p id="GVkA3c">Huard asked what the NBA owners’ appetite for expansion or relocation is, and Van Gundy boiled it down to money. Whether the owners decide there is benefit to splitting the pie 32 ways or if they can get the most value for all 30 teams by moving a team from an underperforming market to Seattle, money will be their key motivator.</p>
<blockquote><p id="VzyotM">“I don’t know what the next team is going to be there, but I tell you it was always a top-flight NBA city. And I just don’t think the NBA is maximizing, ultimately, what it can without having Seattle having an NBA team. I don’t care if it’s expansion or relocation, as painful as that may be to some, but it’s too good of a NBA city to leave dormant.”</p></blockquote>
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https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/10/10/17961740/jeff-van-gundy-seattle-top-10-nba-cityMatt Tucker2018-10-04T09:00:04-07:002018-10-04T09:00:04-07:00Seattle NBA goal takes big step forward
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<p>With an arena deal in hand and an NHL club on the horizon, it’s “legitimate” to consider a Sonics return now.</p> <p id="w5P0z4">We are closer to a return of the NBA in Seattle than we’ve been since January 2013, <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/hockey/reality-that-nhl-will-soon-be-in-seattle-only-awakens-dream-that-nba-could-follow/">says the <em>Seattle Times</em></a>. Perhaps even closer than we’ve ever been.</p>
<p id="BzFPkX"><em>Times</em> sports columnist Larry Stone reflected on Tuesday’s successful presentation to the NHL executive committee, which <a href="https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/10/2/17930584/breaking-nhl-board-of-governors-to-vote-to-expand-to-seattle-in">unanimously recommended</a> to the full board of governors to approve Seattle’s application for expansion. A final presentation will be made to the full BOG for a vote on December 3rd.</p>
<p id="AXDchc">Stone assumes the NHL is a done deal; a sentiment shared by pretty much everyone. He allows for the possibility something could change, but given the language used by the NHL and commissioner Gary Bettman, this all feels like finalizing a process and chilling the champagne.</p>
<p id="LvIkxH">With an arena deal in hand and an NHL club on the horizon, Stone offers that it’s “legitimate” to consider a Sonics return now. </p>
<p id="mMRvJz">“I think it’s great.” former Sonic star and coach <span>Nate McMillan</span> told Sonics Rising when asked about the new arena in a separate interview, “Seattle is a great basketball town and there is a lot of tradition there. It’s one of the few cities that has an NBA championship and was a shame when the team left for Oklahoma City.”</p>
<p id="f6SR6h">Oak View Group, the private arena investors and partners with the NHL Seattle effort, continue to deliver on what they’ve laid out and on their proposed timeline, Stone says. And their “vast connections” in the sports world can’t be ignored.</p>
<blockquote><p id="SH232j">”[Investor Chris] Hansen has long been the clear choice of NBA fans as the best hope for bringing a team back. He’s certainly shown single-minded passion for that outcome. But the stark reality is that OVG, with a new arena on the way, appears well-positioned to do that.”</p></blockquote>
<p id="DUrGU8">Come December 4th, the one-year anniversary of the arena memorandum of understanding between the city and OVG, Seattle will likely be celebrating its NHL expansion award. Links to nearly every member on the NHL’s executive committee helped to closed the deal. </p>
<p id="N1101z">OVG has just as strong connections with the NBA. </p>
<p id="oci9AF">As just one example, on this week’s edition of Sports Radio KJR’s <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/139-Softy-Interviews-27882152/episode/tuesdays-with-tod-leiweke-the-29935483/">Tuesdays with Tod</a>, Seattle Hockey Partners president Tod Leiweke was asked about the “NBA presence” in the NHL room. Tod pointed to Toronto Maple Leafs owner Larry Tanenbaum. He’s also owner of the NBA’s <a href="https://www.raptorshq.com/">Toronto Raptors</a> and current chairman of the NBA’s board of governors. </p>
<p id="KPUANi">Tim Leiweke, Tod’s brother and Oak View’s CEO, worked for Tanenbaum in Toronto as the president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Though they had a falling out and parting of ways back then, Tanenbaum was one of the first to sign on to Tim’s <a href="http://www.oakviewgroup.com/alliance/">Arena Alliance service</a> through OVG.</p>
<p id="nf9Sc0">There is still a lot of uncertainty around the NBA regarding expansion or relocation, to be sure. But given Seattle’s growing status as a “bellwether” city on the national and world stage -- <a href="https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/10/3/17934244/seattle-is-nhl-ready-tod-leiweke-thoughts-nhl-presentation">as Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan told the NHL yesterday</a> -- its booming economy, and now a new arena and what appears to be a new major league hockey club, the goal of the Sonics has taken a big step forward.</p>
<p id="7y3PAi">”There should be a team there (Seattle),” McMillan says, “and I think the NBA is going to put a team there soon.”</p>
https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/10/4/17933970/seattle-nba-goal-big-step-forward-nate-mcmillan-team-soonMatt Tucker2018-10-03T16:18:20-07:002018-10-03T16:18:20-07:00Seattle is NHL ready
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<p>Seattle Hockey Partners president Tod Leiweke shares thoughts on a successful presentation to the NHL</p> <p id="F0hooh">Tod Leiweke stressed that he and all involved in the NHL Seattle effort are not taking anything for granted. But he admitted they had a “big day,” a “fantastic day” yesterday.</p>
<h2 id="3NtjA9">“Seattle is NHL ready.”</h2>
<p id="gIpy3B">That’s the message a select group presented to the NHL’s executive committee in New York on Tuesday. That group included Leiweke, his Seattle Hockey Partners bosses David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer, Bonderman business associate (and new minority team investor) Len Potter, Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan, and his brother Tim with arena investor Oak View Group.</p>
<p id="kKnyHi">Speaking on Sports Radio KJR’s <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/139-Softy-Interviews-27882152/episode/tuesdays-with-tod-leiweke-the-29935483/">Tuesdays with Tod</a>, Leiweke said they got to tell Seattle’s story.</p>
<blockquote><p id="rsrq9d">“That is a story of a lot of great things. It’s a story of a building that is historic but is going to be modern. It’s the story of fans placing deposits in record numbers. It’s a lot of great things.”</p></blockquote>
<p id="SJ8ef5">He mentioned that he had hoped to have this meeting back in June, as originally planned, but that ultimately he was grateful they had the extra time to prepare.</p>
<p id="WJ94zT">David Bonderman opened and closed the presentation, which lasted about an hour and a half once they finally got in the room. But it’s Mayor Durkan who everyone is referring to as “the closer.”</p>
<p id="lfIxuA">Geoff Baker with the <em>Seattle Times</em> <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/hockey/seattle-mayor-durkan-confident-after-nhl-meeting-that-we-can-get-hockey-in-2020/">details Durkan’s role in the presentation</a>, what Leiweke and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman both praised as “enthusiastic” about the city and the NHL. She was able to sway a group that “had become wary of [Seattle] over the years for an agonizingly slow bureaucracy” that the city was capable of getting the arena done in time for 2020.</p>
<p id="z4jcoF">Following Bonderman, Tod spoke about the extraordinary situation the city and market presents to the league. Durkan followed him, and she was chased by a six-minute video the group produced to sell the sports scene and NHL Seattle as a whole. </p>
<p id="n3b7pZ">Tim Leiweke spoke on the arena, the agreements with the city, and the timeline. Potter detailed the business plan. Tod returned to offer information on their planned training facility. And finally, the one-two punch of Bruckheimer and Bonderman summarized their group and presentation.</p>
<p id="M9M0os">On the reaction to the presentation, Leiweke said:</p>
<blockquote><p id="GwSp99">“Today was a really, really extraordinary, positive step forward. And what was so important about it, it wasn’t just the vote, it was the reaction of the owners. And how excited they are that Seattle is going to be a part, potentially, of the National Hockey League.”</p></blockquote>
<p id="Og9iS3">The NHL committee was impressed by the local ownership that had come on-board and what they represent to Seattle. Prospective minority owner David Wright also attended the meeting. They reacted well to the arena progress and the proposed timeline. They were excited about the training facility options and asked after Seattle’s potential AHL minor league hockey affiliate.</p>
<p id="F4xDyq">Asked what’s next for the group to do, Leiweke says the arena is what they have the most control over for a 2020 launch. He mentioned Tim was on the phone with construction partner Skanska Hunt immediately following the presentation.</p>
<p id="zU3mcP">Durkan told the <em>Times</em> that the Seattle City Council would have to waive a requirement in the arena agreement to begin demolition and arena construction before an expansion team is formally awarded.</p>
<blockquote><p id="Sn7UTi">“It’s written very specifically, so there are things they’d need to see from the league in order to make that happen.”</p></blockquote>
<p id="fZdF0c">The group also has some final documents they have to finish up ahead of the final presentation in December, Leiweke says. They “knew it was going to be a two-part process.” </p>
<p id="GLhWjK">To sum up where they are now, he offered:</p>
<blockquote><p id="lOGVJ6">“I’ll use a phrase from my former life: We are in the red zone. All we have to do is execute here.”</p></blockquote>
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https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/10/3/17934244/seattle-is-nhl-ready-tod-leiweke-thoughts-nhl-presentationMatt Tucker2018-10-02T13:00:01-07:002018-10-02T13:00:01-07:00Durant says Sonics “need to be back in Seattle”
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<p>Ahead of Friday’s preseason game in Seattle, Kevin Durant talks about a city deserving of NBA basketball</p> <p class="p-large-text" id="2LbMki">“You’ll always be a Sonic.”</p>
<p id="6LU6Az">In a <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/10/01/kevin-durant-sonics-need-to-be-back-in-seattle/">spotlight feature with the <em>The Mercury News</em></a>, superstar forward <span>Kevin Durant</span> remarks how fans in Portland often tell him this whenever he plays there. He also reveals he keeps a “really big bin” of Sonics gear and memorabilia from his time in Seattle.</p>
<p id="igTzKe">This Friday, <span>Durant</span> and the <a href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/">Golden State Warriors</a> will tip off against the <a href="https://www.sactownroyalty.com/">Sacramento Kings</a> in an NBA preseason game at Seattle’s KeyArena. It will be the first NBA game played in Seattle since the SuperSonics departed town in 2008.</p>
<p id="NxrEeU">It’s also the last public event to be held at KeyArena. Last week, <a href="https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/9/24/17898574/seattle-center-arena-deal-ovg-nhl-approval-next">the city approved a project</a> that will see a new arena built at the location while preserving the iconic roof of the existing building.</p>
<p id="JTZZlD">In the article, <span>Durant</span> recalls playing the last Sonics home game and leading the crowd in chanting “Save Our Sonics!” He refers to the game as the most memorable of his rookie season in the league.</p>
<blockquote><p id="c8LCF2">“It was indescribable man,” <span>Durant</span> recalled with a small group of reporters. “I can’t put into words the energy of the building and the amount of love. The support that was in the building was incredible.”</p></blockquote>
<p id="4VGvjr">Looking forward to Friday’s game, <span>Durant</span> says “the energy is going to be amazing in the building.” </p>
<blockquote><p id="Y3nGQ0">“The Seahawks had some success. Now the Storm had some success. But everybody in the basketball world and the NBA knows <strong>the Sonics need to be back in Seattle</strong>,” Durant said. “I’m looking forward to going out there and playing. Hopefully we give them a show.”</p></blockquote>
<p id="C1ac6p">The <em>Mercury News</em> goes on to summarize Durant’s career, including his start in Seattle, what he calls a “deeply-rooted basketball city.” He found the Emerald City instantly welcoming and “really chill” when he came to work out prior to the 2007 <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba-draft">NBA Draft</a>. “I thought it would be faster. But once I got out there, it was smooth sailing,” he says.</p>
<p id="txGtk7">It helped that his agent at the time was based in Seattle and that Durant became close with the family of now-retired NBA pro Spencer Hawes, his best friend on the high school basketball circuit the article notes. The Sonics also traded for the draft pick used on <span>Jeff Green</span> that year, who Durant had grown up with in Maryland.</p>
<p id="kIWxpm">He became friends with other Seattle native NBA players like <span>Jamal Crawford</span> and Nate Robinson.</p>
<blockquote><p id="odYQpw">“I kind of felt like I was a part of that group with those guys,” Durant said. “Just hooping with them every day and being around them and that community. It was deeper than just me playing for the Sonics. I had a little family there as well.”</p></blockquote>
<p id="oUnpA5">The article covers Durant’s numerous returns to Seattle in the past decade for promotional appearances and to play in <span>Crawford</span>’s pro-am summer league. In 2016, he donated a new basketball court to the local Boys and Girls Club. </p>
<p id="pVTUzZ">On Friday, he hopes to recreate the atmosphere he experienced his first season as a pro.</p>
<blockquote><p id="9i6M8C">“Those fans have been yearning for basketball for a long, long time. Even though it’s just a preseason game and it’s one game, hopefully we can give them a nice little show.”</p></blockquote>
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https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/10/2/17927794/durant-sonics-need-to-be-back-in-seattleMatt Tucker2018-09-24T16:22:39-07:002018-09-24T16:22:39-07:00Seattle has an arena deal
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<p>City council unanimously approves Seattle Center Arena project, OVG eyes NHL approval next</p> <p id="fS0gp2">After nearly 20 years, and ten years after the SuperSonics left town for the prairieland of Oklahoma, Seattle has an official deal to build a new arena that will support both the NHL and the NBA.</p>
<p id="RyEE65">On Monday afternoon, the Seattle City Council unanimously approved the proposed <a href="http://newarenaatseattlecenter.com/">Seattle Center Arena</a> project, developed by and to be fully privately financed by the Oak View Group. The final approval of the project and its transaction documents caps a process that began with an October 2016 announcement that the city of Seattle would release a request for proposals to renovate the erstwhile KeyArena in January 2017.</p>
<p id="tigNGv">The 8-0 vote — the council meeting also featured not a single public comment against approval of the project — stands in stark contrast to the last vote the city council took on an arena project. A vote on a street vacation of Occidental Avenue S for an arena project proposed in the city’s SoDo district ended in a 5-4 defeat in May 2016.</p>
<p id="FpWpsm">The approval clears a big hurdle in the process to secure an NHL expansion team, which the ownership group headed by David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer filed for in February. In early March, the group garnered 33,000 deposits for season tickets in a single day.</p>
<p id="PY39ry">Next on the agenda, the ownership group will make a presentation to the NHL’s executive committee next week. With the arena solution solved, the NHL is expected to approve Seattle as its 32nd market in the next few months.</p>
<p id="M6VrZq">OVG head Tim Leiweke spoke before the council vote on Monday to thank them for their partnership and to reiterate his group’s commitment to closing the NHL process and to pursuing an NBA team to rightfully return the Sonics to Seattle.</p>
<p id="dSMKWU">For the first time in many years, we can finally say that Seattle has taken care of its part of the equation.</p>
https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/9/24/17898574/seattle-center-arena-deal-ovg-nhl-approval-nextMatt Tucker2018-08-20T16:38:35-07:002018-08-20T16:38:35-07:00For hockey or basketball in Seattle, local ownership is key
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<p>The significance of local ownership in sports and Leiweke on how significant local ownership will be in the potential NHL franchise</p> <p id="AcLmGg">Local investment is the key flavor in team ownership Seattle Hockey Partners CEO Tod Leiweke told a Seattle radio audience last Tuesday evening.</p>
<p id="gpHtES">Okay, he didn’t call it “flavor” or “ingredient” or any other culinary buzzword. But speaking with KJR 950-AM’s Dave “Softy” Mahler on the first of a <a href="https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/8/15/17692902/tod-leiweke-nhl-nba-seattle-expansion-kjr-softy-950">planned weekly radio segment called “Tuesdays with Tod”</a>, Leiweke spoke of its significant value.</p>
<blockquote><p id="ISWGHZ">And then local investors... There’s some fantastic, fantastic leaders who have stepped up and said I want to be a part of this. You know, David Bonderman could’ve done all of this on his own, but he saw real value in having not only folks who could afford to be a part of something like this but folks who are true leaders and understood the community. And I’m just so happy that we’re going to have a significant part of this franchise owned by local owners. Not only do I get to serve fans, I get to serve some really cool people who are going to go on this journey with us.</p></blockquote>
<p id="YGcmZX">Much has been made of the local connections of the potential ownership and management group that could bring NHL hockey to Seattle.</p>
<p id="UT3fIp">Born and raised in Los Angeles and a graduate of Harvard Law School, David Bonderman resides in Forth Worth, Texas and makes his living as a billionaire investor. Bonderman’s tie to the Emerald City is as an alumnus of the University of Washington, and he’s still a proud Husky. In 1995, he donated the annual Bonderman Travel Fellowship program to his alma mater.</p>
<p id="vwP68C">Leiweke, the group’s president and chief executive, is a native of St. Louis and earlier this year left his position as the Chief Operating Officer of the NFL — second in command to commissioner Roger Goodell — to head up the city’s hockey effort. Tod has an extensive history with sports, having been an executive with the NHL’s <a href="https://www.hockeywilderness.com/">Minnesota Wild</a> and <a href="https://www.nucksmisconduct.com/">Vancouver Canucks</a>, the NBA’s <a href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/">Golden State Warriors</a> and <a href="https://www.blazersedge.com/">Portland Trail Blazers</a>, the New York Arrows of the Major Indoor Soccer League, and the PGA Tour. For five years, he served as CEO and minority owner of Tampa Bay Sports & Entertainment, owners of the NHL’s <a href="https://www.rawcharge.com/">Tampa Bay Lightning</a> and the Arena Football League’s Tampa Bay Storm. But it’s Tod’s years with the <a href="https://www.fieldgulls.com/">Seattle Seahawks</a> and founding and ownership of the <a href="https://www.sounderatheart.com/">Seattle Sounders FC</a> that prove most relevant.</p>
<p id="IMu0ZJ">Beyond those ties, Seattle Hockey Partners is courting lifelong or long-term local investors with deep roots and prominent standing in the community in various sectors. Folks who understand the market, the community, its people. Owners with as much passion for the city and region as for the sport, if not more.</p>
<p id="awkCFU">To get an idea of the value of local ownership to a major professional sports franchise, we need only look back a dozen years to the sale of the Seattle SuperSonics.</p>
<p id="9GPFhe">In July 2006, then-Starbucks CEO and team owner Howard Schultz held a press conference with his Sonics team president Wally Walker to announce he had sold the team to interests out of Oklahoma City. Schultz made sure to stress how “extremely difficult” and “personally disappointing” the decision to sell was while trumpeting it as an opportunity for “renewed hope and enthusiasm for professional basketball in the Northwest region.”</p>
<p id="HGblCz">At the table in front of the press in the Furtado Center that midsummer day sat Clay Bennett, the public face of Professional Basketball Club LLC, the new Sonics ownership group. More relevant, Bennett was joined by a man named Ed Evans.</p>
<p id="FGQFno">G. Edward Evans earned his money as an executive in the wireless telephony business. He was actually the first approached in Oklahoma City by the investment bank that was handling the sale of the Sonics for Schultz and his circus cavalcade of owners (a 58-member cabal). As Walker puts in the documentary <a href="http://sonicsgate.com/"><em>Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team</em></a>:</p>
<blockquote><p id="dkHbLZ">There was an Oklahoma City group we were talking to through the sales process. Clay Bennett was not a part of it. It was run by a guy named Ed Evans. When he said to us, ‘I think it’s a great market, there’s a great opportunity, I’m going to keep the team in Seattle,’ we believed him. We had people who knew him and he had some history here, and it made sense.</p></blockquote>
<p id="dSYRv2">Talk at the time had it that Evans had business or familial connections to Seattle; it’s difficult to corroborate that twelve years later. One thing known was that he was part of one of eight groups who had bid (and lost) on purchasing ownership of the <a href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Washington Nationals</a> from Major League Baseball a year earlier in 2005. All groups were committed to making baseball work in the nation’s capital, to keeping the team in their market.</p>
<p id="jNwyQy">Evans was <a href="https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Buyers-deep-roots-suggest-they-ll-lean-toward-1209251.php">quoted in the <em>Seattle Post-Intelligencer</em></a> in 2006 saying the Sonics group was “very interested in controlling a basketball team. (We) weren’t real concerned with where the basketball team is. This may be the best opportunity for our group to participate in the NBA.”</p>
<p id="jHuASW">David Locke, now voice of the <a href="https://www.slcdunk.com/">Utah Jazz</a>, was at that time play-by-play broadcaster and blogger for the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/wnba">WNBA</a>’s <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/wnba/teams/seattle-storm">Seattle Storm</a> and would serve as radio voice of the Sonics for the first season under the new ownership. Locke <a href="http://www.wnba.com/archive/wnba/storm/news/lockeblog.html">offered thoughts</a> on an interview Evans had with former KJR sports radio host Mitch Levy in July 2006:</p>
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<p id="c3uxfC">The number one thing that jumped out at me about Ed Evans is that he was straightforward. He wasn’t trying to spin. He wasn’t hiding things. He answered questions without hiding the answer in big words and complicated sentences that left you feeling like the Coyote in the Roadrunner cartoon. He didn’t try to make everything rosy. He was honest and understandable.</p>
<p id="ruv5P2">I find it interesting that Evans was not a part of the group, led by Clayton Bennett, which was responsible for getting Oklahoma City ready for the <a href="https://www.atthehive.com/">Hornets</a> relocation last season. His interests are clearly about owning a professional sports team.</p>
<p id="dIeRbk"><strong>I am getting the vibe that this ownership group is a conglomeration of two different groups, Evans and Bennett, that came together to get into the NBA.</strong></p>
<p id="0Tp5OM">Remember Evans was a part of a group that was trying to buy the Washington Nationals and wasn’t able to acquire the franchise. He has consistently stated that he wanted in on professional ownership and this was his vehicle. This was a decision about choosing the NBA or not choosing the NBA.</p>
<p id="ahZJTg">Evans continually mentioned that they wanted into the NBA. He also said that Seattle presented the best opportunity. There were other franchises available; none of them brought what Seattle brings.</p>
</blockquote>
<p id="VLtNRe">That bolded comment above is a vital point. When Evans was approached by the Sonics’ representative to talk of a sale, he was a majority investor and the controlling member of the group. In the end, Evans would vanish from the ownership completely.</p>
<p id="1tgKLE">During their multitude of calls regarding the sale, Walker says, “suddenly, this guy Clay Bennett’s on the conference call. Where’d he come from? So it came up, really, at the very end that he was involved at all, and no one had ever shaken his hand at that point.”</p>
<p id="snCKPn">Following the NBA Board of Governors’ approval of the sale of the team to the Oklahoma City group, Percy Allen of the <em>Seattle Times</em> wrote of <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/sale-of-sonics-gets-nbas-ok/">Bennett’s response to the disappearance of Evans</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p id="bZldon">“He advised me that he had another business opportunity that he wanted to pursue,” Bennett said. “His contribution to the process was very important and he remains a friend to the group. The deal, as any deal does, evolved in a degree in terms of roles and at the end of the day, this is where we all agreed to be. It’s all very positive.”</p></blockquote>
<p id="nHUXfU">Allen mentioned at the time that an NBA source told the <em>Times</em> that “the league had deep concerns about the financial stability of the ownership group under Evans’ control.” The veracity of that comment is hard to verify, but one thing was very clear: the one guy with any possible local ties in the ownership group and an interest in keeping the team within the market was out.</p>
<p id="ExyI4Z">In <em>Sonicsgate</em>, then-Seattle city attorney Paul Lawrence states that, though there were “willing Seattle partners” who wanted to be part of the ownership group, the Oklahoma City group decided not to allow any local Seattle ownership. Ultimately, without a champion for the city among their ranks, this made it easier to part ways with the market and file for relocation.</p>
<p id="YaHwOP">Local ownership brings a loyalty and commitment to a market beyond pure economics. Local owners will work hard to find ways not just to keep a hockey team or a basketball team in town, but ways in which to communicate and partner with the community at large. Ways in which to become not just good neighbors but contributors to the culture and vibrancy of Seattle in many facets.</p>
<p id="ppWcku">There are sure to be knowing nods and a few surprises when local ownership for the hockey group is announced. The curious question is just how “significant” of a part of the franchise, as Leiweke refers to it, that these local investors will own.</p>
<p id="wRsFwk">We’d wager on bigger than you think.</p>
https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/8/20/17716146/local-ownership-key-seattle-hockey-basketball-tod-leiweke-ed-evansMatt Tucker2018-08-07T16:40:34-07:002018-08-07T16:40:34-07:00Seattle still hungry for NBA as preseason game tickets sell fast
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<p>Seattle basketball fans buy 12,000 tickets in the first hour</p> <p id="p2TPEZ">Seattle hoops fans still show up to support the NBA, even though the beloved SuperSonics have been gone for more than a decade now.</p>
<p id="GQmB1H">On Tuesday morning, tickets for the preseason game between the reigning champion <a href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/">Golden State Warriors</a> and the <a href="https://www.sactownroyalty.com/">Sacramento Kings</a> at KeyArena on Friday, October 5th went on sale. Within the first hour, fans of the green and gold had purchased 12,000 tickets. The hunger for world class professional men’s basketball is still alive in the Emerald City.</p>
<div id="9WMu1P">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">From the Warriors:<br><br>"The Golden State Warriors vs Sacramento Kings preseason game scheduled for October 5 at KeyArena sold over 12,000 tickets in the first hour this morning. There are still tickets still remaining, but don't wait. Go get your tickets now!"</p>— Kevin Shockey (@KevinShockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinShockey/status/1026902811718504449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2018</a>
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<p id="oaG2uh">Tickets went on sale at 10 am Pacific Time for the first NBA game of any kind in Seattle since April 2008. As of this afternoon, a smattering of single seats were still available in the lower bowl. KeyArena’s official capacity for basketball is 17,072. It’s likely the game will be a sellout by the end of the day.</p>
<div id="4S8pLP">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Update from <a href="https://twitter.com/warriors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Warriors</a>——<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/October?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#October</a> 5th NBA EXHIBITION game at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Seattle?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Seattle</a>’s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KeyArena?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KeyArena</a> between GSW and Sacramento is now “close to being sold out”.<br><br>It is scheduled to be the last public event at the Key before demolition.<br><br>Tickets went on sale this morning.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NHL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KDTrey5?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KDTrey5</a></p>— Chris Daniels (@ChrisDaniels5) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisDaniels5/status/1026945683616456704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
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<p id="xJgPBZ">Since the Seattle club, which had played in front of this Northwest crowd for 41 seasons, left for the plains of Oklahoma, Sonics fans have had a bitter and often cold relationship with the NBA. The desire to see the club return, though, has long burned fierce. In 2013, in preparation for a new arena and the potential to buy and relocate the Sacramento Kings, over 44,000 fans pledged to purchase season tickets and multi-game packages in an effort to demonstrate the passionate fervor for basketball that still existed in the city.</p>
<div class="c-float-right"><aside id="UcWzq7"><q>“[This game is] just a great opportunity for the NBA and Seattle to get to know each other again.” - Brian Robinson</q></aside></div>
<p id="58ELNK">On the verge of a new arena deal that would see the interior of KeyArena completely demolished and replaced with a building with a larger footprint and nearly twice as much space, the city and developer have been courting a potential NHL franchise. The league authorized a season ticket drive to gauge hockey fan interest, and in March the sports world was stunned when 25,000 deposits were placed within the first hour. The day ended with 33,000 deposits and 4,000 on a waiting list.</p>
<p id="YnigEb">This was noticed not only by the NHL but by the NBA as well. A dearth of professional winter season sports in Seattle is calling out to be capitalized upon. Today’s sales continue to underscore that point.</p>
<p id="QcQjyD">Speaking with <a href="https://komonews.com/news/local/eager-fans-line-up-for-tickets-to-seattles-first-nba-game-in-years">KOMO News</a> in line at the KeyArena box office, Sonics Rising’s Brian Robinson called the game “a great opportunity for the NBA and Seattle to get to know each other again.” He further offered, “I think people have a lot of emotions around the NBA’s departure, and I think we’re going to go in, and we’re going to heal, and get excited and get ready for the next chapter in bringing the Sonics back.”</p>
<p id="rGORoU">Though the Kings will coincidentally represent the “home” team in the preseason match, the Warriors front office was quick to set the event in motion. Golden State president Rick Welts is a Seattle native and one time ballboy for the Sonics. He had looked at opportunities for the Dubs to play in the preseason in Seattle in the past, but nothing had come together until now. It’s only fitting that <span>Kevin Durant</span>, the last superstar drafted by the Sonics to take the court for them, will return to play in front of this rabid crowd.</p>
<p id="JRwnLJ">The city is expected to approve the project for the arena renovation at Seattle Center next month, a significant milestone in a saga that dates back nearly 20 years, prior to former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s purchase of the Sonics. Schultz would eventually sell the team to the Oklahoma City interests because of an inability to get a new arena done.</p>
<p id="ImESJO">The Warriors-Kings game will be the last event held at KeyArena, an apt closing of one chapter and start of another.</p>
https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/8/7/17662158/seattle-still-hungry-for-nba-preseason-game-tickets-sell-fastMatt Tucker2018-07-28T21:05:14-07:002018-07-28T21:05:14-07:00New Seattle Arena costs $700M+; full agreement details revealed
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<figcaption>SDOT Sign Shop / photo Mike Baker</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The final leg of approval for the new Seattle arena project begins</p> <p id="koIeBa">On Thursday, full details of the agreements that comprise the transaction documents between the city of Seattle and private developer Oak View Group for the new Seattle Center Arena project were presented in city council committee. It was revealed that the project budget is now at $700+ million.</p>
<p id="aCzYaO">Before city taxpayers blow a gasket, a requirement of the project is that OVG is responsible for all costs and cost overruns during both construction and operation of the new arena.</p>
<p id="SO49Zp">Let’s go to the tape.</p>
<p id="6uaOpj">Three main agreements make up the transaction documents for the project: the development agreement, the lease agreement, and the Seattle Center integration agreement. Each agreement has a number of associated agreements required for city ordinance compliance and stipulations of the project.</p>
<h2 id="3UUH7b">The Development Agreement</h2>
<p id="8CzSZN">The development agreement covers the rights and responsibilities of both OVG and the city during design & construction of the new arena. OVG is expected to finalize designs of the arena within the next 4-6 weeks and name the general contractor for the project shortly. The designs, which would see the existing 386,000 sq. ft. building and current footprint demolished and replaced by a new footprint and 750,000 sq. ft. interior building, must be approved by both the NHL and the NBA for the project to proceed.</p>
<p id="QN0Ptt">Specifics of the development agreement:</p>
<ul>
<li id="71ax6e">
<strong>Budget -</strong> Project is now budgeted at around $700 million. When initially proposed in April 2017, it was projected to cost around $600 million.</li>
<li id="K0ZFEE">
<strong>Private Funding -</strong> OVG will cover all construction costs, including any overruns, through a mix of private equity, debt financing, and potential federal historic tax credits for the landmark status of the KeyArena roof and north, east, and west exterior walls. If the building is not placed on the National Register of Historic Places and unable to qualify for the tax credits, OVG will assume that cost.</li>
<li id="JPN1LY">
<strong>Public Art -</strong> OVG will pay an amount equal to 1% of its construction costs toward public art as required by city law. That works out to a roughly $3.5 million investment. For those questioning the math, the amount is tied to actual construction cost, which will be around $350 million. The $700 million budget is total project cost, including the hard costs of demolition and construction and the soft costs of design & development, legal, permitting, and other elements.</li>
<li id="3LYNJO">
<strong>MHA Contribution -</strong> As part of newer city law, developers are required to contribute to Mandatory Housing Affordability. OVG’s contribution will be around $2.5 million.</li>
<li id="kQ0IMx">
<strong>Construction Impact -</strong> OVG is also required to have a Construction Impact Mitigation Plan in place for final approval of the project. Construction is proposed for 18 hours per day to meet the tight 24-month schedule. The mitigation plan will address impacts to the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, including noise impacts.</li>
</ul>
<p id="CjdTPw">Associated agreements required by the development agreement include:</p>
<ul>
<li id="grPkNN">
<strong>Community Workforce Agreement</strong> regarding the use of community labor for the project;</li>
<li id="H5fhzZ">
<strong>Labor Peace Agreement</strong> regarding labor unionization and practices;</li>
<li id="nFJCr6">
<strong>Priority Hire compliance</strong> regarding the hiring of women, people of color, and labor work from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods;</li>
<li id="LW1PNa">
<strong>Women and Minority Business Enterprise Inclusion Plan</strong> regarding efforts to work with businesses owned and operated by women and minorities;</li>
<li id="4eIXxQ">Prevailing wage and apprenticeship compliance;</li>
<li id="nMMDN4">And an agreement to offer employment to all current arena workers.</li>
</ul>
<p id="68WSFi">All associated agreements were negotiated and in place as of Thursday’s committee meeting. They are working to finalize a financial backstop agreement that will hold OVG accountable for all costs and overruns and detail the methods for the backstop.</p>
<p id="qqqXxs">The last event to be held in the current KeyArena will be the NBA preseason game between the <a href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/">Golden State Warriors</a> and the <a href="https://www.sactownroyalty.com/">Sacramento Kings</a> on Friday, October 5th. Though the Kings will be the “home” team, it’s fitting that former Seattle SuperSonic Kevin Durant will help usher out the old building. The city expects to turn the building over to OVG on October 15, 2018.</p>
<h2 id="kgqEsc">The Lease Agreement</h2>
<p id="60qsbG">The lease agreement details the financial arrangement and relationship between the city and OVG during the operation of the new arena.</p>
<p id="nfZdhG">Specifics of the lease agreement:</p>
<ul>
<li id="3Bn9LS">
<strong>Length of Term -</strong> The initial term of the lease agreement is for 39 years.</li>
<li id="TvPSeV">
<strong>Optional Extensions -</strong> There are two optional 8-year lease extensions built into the agreement. If both options are exercised, total length of the lease would be 55 years. Each option requires a capital improvement investment to be made and that an NHL or NBA team (or both) call the arena home at the time of extension.</li>
<li id="YPOTgy">
<strong>Base Rent -</strong> OVG will pay about $2.8 million in rent to the city annually. That number will be adjusted throughout the term of the lease based on the Consumer Price Index to account for inflation. The rent payment amount was determined by the average of the last four financial years of net revenue earned from KeyArena, the 1st Avenue N parking garage, and Seattle Center campus sponsorships. This is the first in a two-step process to ensure the city doesn’t go backwards from what it currently earns from KeyArena.</li>
<li id="w0arg3">
<strong>Tax Revenues -</strong> The city is guaranteed to receive $2.24 million in tax revenues annually from the arena and the 1st Ave N parking garage, the current level of taxes it receives. OVG will reimburse the city for tax revenues that drop below $2.24M in a given year. This is the second in the two-step process.</li>
<li id="LZqnRn">
<strong>Upside Tax Revenues -</strong> OVG and the city will share any additional tax revenues earned each year above the base $2.24 million, excluding admissions taxes. For the first 10 years of the lease agreement, OVG will get 75% of the upside revenue and the city will get 25%. After that, for the remainder of the lease including the extensions, OVG and the city will split the upside revenue 50-50.</li>
<li id="hVS7Yt">
<strong>Capital Improvements -</strong> OVG guarantees it will spend at least $68 million in capital improvements to the arena during the initial 39-year lease. To qualify for the first lease extension, OVG must spend an additional $50 million in improvements during years 21 to 30 of the lease. To qualify for the second lease extension, OVG must spend another $50 million during years 31 to 47. This is a guarantee of a total of $168 million in improvements to the arena to keep it up to date during the life of the lease.</li>
<li id="ZO2Rrt">
<strong>Transportation Fund -</strong> OVG agrees to pay $40 million into a transportation improvement fund over the 39-year initial lease term. The city can choose to borrow against this fund using bond money with the guarantee OVG will be paying into the fund annually. The transportation fund is in addition to any money already spent on study and any money to be spent on transportation and traffic mitigation identified in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the project. OVG is expected to pay over $100 million toward transportation impact and improvement in total.</li>
<li id="NfG9QK">
<strong>Relocation -</strong> OVG will pay $2 million to relocate the Seattle Center Skatepark and tenants of the nearby Bressi Garage who will be affected by construction. The Skatepark is eyeing a move to the other side of the Center campus, in the greenway along Broad Street near the Pacific Science Center and the sculpture park just southwest of the Space Needle.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="VhDvyY">The Seattle Center Integration Agreement</h2>
<p id="9Ie9Pv">The third component details how OVG will work with and alongside Seattle Center during operation of the arena.</p>
<p id="5yhm2h">Specifics of the integration agreement:</p>
<ul>
<li id="v1Ne2q">
<strong>Parking Garages -</strong> OVG will take over operation of the 1st Ave N parking garage just south of the arena between John and Thomas streets. They will manage the garage with Seattle Center staff in a coordinated effort also incorporating the Center’s management of the 5th Ave N parking garage by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation at 5th & Republican Street and the Mercer Street parking garage north of the Center campus between 3rd and 4th avenues.</li>
<li id="j11kkX">
<strong>Parking -</strong> Working with local resident organizations to set aside space for pre-paid parking in garages as well as bundled pricing for tickets & parking to games and events.</li>
<li id="plfkjX">
<strong>Event Booking -</strong> OVG will manage booking the arena and coordinate with Center staff on booking for festivals and other events.</li>
<li id="UlsRwf">
<strong>Arena Plazas & Campus Areas -</strong> OVG will manage events in and use of the arena plazas on the east, west, and south sides of the arena. They will coordinate with Center staff on programming for other campus space that might also involve the arena plazas.</li>
<li id="hwpVIZ">
<strong>Traffic Management -</strong> OVG and Seattle Center staff will coordinate to manage traffic around the arena and campus on game and event days.</li>
<li id="7ZCqcj">
<strong>Monorail Coordination -</strong> OVG and Seattle Center staff will coordinate use of the Monorail in traffic and transportation plans.</li>
<li id="azckHY">
<strong>Campus Sponsorships - </strong>Upon approval by Seattle Center director Robert Nellams, OVG will become the exclusive sales representative for sponsorships on the Seattle Center campus. However, Center tenants and events held at the Center will retain rights to their own sponsorships.</li>
<li id="ckycoR">
<strong>Marketing & Co-promotion -</strong> OVG and Seattle Center staff will coordinate on marketing efforts and opportunities to cross-promote games, concerts, events, festivals, and other tenants on the campus.</li>
<li id="ptW0J7">
<strong>Security -</strong> OVG and Seattle Center staff will coordinate on necessary security operations as well as management during emergencies.</li>
</ul>
<p id="y6AMPI">The integration agreement continues to be worked on and refined in anticipation of final approval in September.</p>
<h2 id="CB1Jp9">Community Benefits</h2>
<p id="UTKk2g">Each agreement also lays out specific community benefits to be provided by the project. In particular, a number of positions will be created that will enable further discussion and cooperation between OVG and the community during construction and operation of the arena.</p>
<p id="STaWXr">A full-time community liaison hired by OVG will work with business and residential groups during construction to make sure suggestions and concerns are heard and addressed. That position will remain during operation of the arena to better manage games and events that will impact the local businesses and residents.</p>
<p id="GwpuAS">An ombudsperson position will be created at the city to coordinate and facilitate between OVG and local businesses and residents. OVG is also paying $225,000 to he Uptown Alliance to better aid local business through organizational improvements. And a council will be formed to advise on the spending of the $20 million OVG has committed towards a community fund to aid various programs, including $10 million specifically identified for the YouthCare homeless youth assistance program.</p>
<p id="qbXsXJ">The makeup of this council was suggested to be from those neighborhoods specifically impacted by the arena project, but councilmember and committee chair Debora Juarez suggested the council be comprised of representatives from all of the city to provide the best feedback.</p>
<p id="FvNZsG">Annual free-rent days at the arena for community events, joint sponsorship by OVG of events promoting small business and community arts & culture, and campus wayfinding are some of the additional community benefits provided for in the agreements.</p>
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<h2 id="p2uXqd">Next Steps</h2>
<p id="edsafB">The council’s Select Committee on Civic Arenas plans to meet on August 10th and September 14th to finalize the transaction documents and review all studies. The Final EIS is slated for release on August 30th. Juarez has stated that she would like to wrap things up to be able to vote the project out of committee on September 14th to move it to the full city council for vote on final approval.</p>
<p id="5FyBXX">An interesting wrinkle presented itself during the committee meeting. Other items on the agenda included a review of the Monorail improvement study that identifies a two-phase approach to upgrade both the Westlake and Seattle Center stations to increase operational capacity. The committee also voted on two pieces of legislation to move to the full council to finally grant historic landmark status to the KeyArena walls & roof and to the Bressi Garage.</p>
<p id="HOKzIa">During those votes, Juarez pointed out that legislation needs to be presented to the city clerk by noon on Thursday in order for it to appear on the agenda of the following Monday’s full city council meeting. As the votes on the landmark legislation were voted on after 4 pm on Thursday, they will be addressed by the full council at their August 6th meeting rather than the July 30th meeting.</p>
<p id="PVZpn5">With the committee vote on the arena project expected on Friday, September 14th, it’s possible that the full council will have to wait to vote on approval at the September 24th meeting instead of the 17th. This remains to be seen. </p>
<p id="fMxS7E"><small><em><strong>Updated:</strong></em></small><small><em> The original version of this article incorrectly stated that OVG would take over management of all three parking garages currently operated on behalf of the city by Seattle Center staff.</em></small></p>
https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/7/28/17625712/seattle-center-arena-full-agreement-details-revealed-costs-700-million-plusMatt Tucker2018-06-18T08:33:28-07:002018-06-18T08:33:28-07:00Public comment challenges Seattle Center arena redevelopment review, could delay project
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<p>Potential for delay could put Seattle NHL expansion at risk</p> <p id="O4B2A0">A land-use attorney representing owners of two Queen Anne apartment complexes near Seattle Center has challenged the adequacy and validity of the environmental review process for the arena redevelopment project. Such a challenge opens the possibility for an appeal of the review and a significant delay to the project.</p>
<p id="lsUrBg">With a tight project timeline, a delay would jeopardize Seattle’s chance to be awarded an expansion National Hockey League franchise to start play in the 2020-21 season. It could have the potential to cost the NHL franchise altogether.</p>
<p id="9tnGQx">Submitted on the final day of the extended 45-day public comment period on the required draft environmental impact statement, a 17-page letter from attorney Courtney Kaylor contends that the EIS is “replete with incomplete and inconsistent statements.” She addresses issues directly related to the apartment complexes but also general concerns about the project at the Seattle Center location.</p>
<blockquote><p id="HIdTfD">Kaylor’s letter goes in-depth into concerns about construction noise, vibration impacts and traffic and parking issues that could adversely affect nearby tenants. But the letter also touches on more general issues that have little to do with the individual buildings — things like affordable housing, relocation of Seattle Center nonprofits and arts groups, Monorail plans, the future of music festivals like Bumbershoot, and the city’s goals regarding landing an NBA franchise.</p></blockquote>
<h3 id="MVQXm0">Public or private?</h3>
<p id="9PW12H">Kaylor states that, as the soon-to-be former KeyArena is owned by the city and the project was initiated by the city, it should have been considered a “public” project for the purposes of environmental review. Among the requirements of a public project review is that one or more alternative sites be considered and studied. The Seattle Center Arena project has been reviewed as a “private” project, which only requires one or more alternative projects at the same site.</p>
<p id="XCTrSI">The city holds that the project is private under state environmental law because the city is leasing the public land to a private developer and the private developer is shouldering the entire cost and management of the project.</p>
<p id="wp2hBb">A draft EIS provides a substantive, though incomplete, status check on findings in a review to allow the public to ask clarifying questions. A final EIS must address questions and concerns raised during comments on the draft. </p>
<p id="hfvrlQ"><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/no-lawsuit-yet-but-apartment-building-owners-challenge-could-delay-keyarena-renovation">As Geoff Baker of the <em>Seattle Times</em> points out</a>, the tone and scope of Kaylor’s letter appear to lay groundwork to appeal the results of the final EIS. She states the draft EIS should be “revised and republished and subject to additional public comment.”</p>
<p id="CjTRLj">State environmental law does allow for an addendum to a final EIS to be commissioned and published if further information is needed. But if the EIS is “inadequate on its face” due to the classification as a private project, as Kaylor’s letter asserts, an appeal seems far more likely.</p>
<h3 id="m3KEyx">Could delay cost the NHL?</h3>
<p id="lt7pza">Baker contacted Bryan Stevens, spokesperson for the city’s Department of Construction and Inspections, who offered that an appeal hearing “could add at least four months to the schedule and would not allow construction permits to be issued until resolved.”</p>
<p id="5a1Jhd">With the final EIS targeted for the end of August, the city council is expected to vote to approve the project and transaction documents in mid-to-late September. The city would then turn over KeyArena to Oak View Group, the project’s private developer, in mid-October to begin demolition of the interior. Construction of the new arena is currently expected to start in January 2019 with an eye towards opening the arena in October 2020.</p>
<p id="fM4SC1">An expansion application for the NHL’s 32nd franchise was submitted in February with the intention that the new arena would allow the team to take the ice in October 2020. </p>
<p id="j2fjON">A delay of four months, if not longer, would sacrifice the 2020-21 season. That begs the question if the NHL would be open to a potential new club joining a year later, or if they would pass on Seattle expansion because the city is not ready.</p>
<h3 id="lgB5I4">Hansen involved?</h3>
<p id="xWnCjL">Add another odd wrinkle to this years-long arena story. Baker draws attention to a curious fact: Courtney Kaylor is an attorney with the firm McCullough Hill Leary. </p>
<p id="fAOXkK">If the firm sounds familiar, it’s because it has represented investor Chris Hansen in his dealings with the city regarding his proposal for an arena in the SoDo district. Hansen’s project was dealt a significant blow in May 2016 when the city council voted against a street vacation necessary to build the arena. A memorandum of understanding between the city, Hansen, and King County to explore that arena project expired after 5 years in December 2017, clearing the way for the city to move forward on the OVG project.</p>
<p id="Em2JhO">Hansen has subsequently submitted a second street vacation request with a revised arena proposal that has been inexplicably stuck in review with the Seattle Department of Transportation for more than a year.</p>
<p id="0TQ0tW">Baker reports that the firm submitted comments during the scoping period for the Seattle Center Arena review that mirror a number of the points addressed in Kaylor’s letter. Neither Hansen nor his attorney, firm partner John McCullough, submitted comments on the draft EIS. Baker reached out to Kaylor and McCullough for comment but did not receive responses. Hansen’s spokesperson Rollin Fatland told Baker on Friday that the arena investment group had nothing to do with Kaylor’s filed comment.</p>
<p id="NhQAM9">For their part, one of the apartment complex owners released a statement saying they weren’t interested in delaying or stopping the review but that they had concerns they didn’t feel were adequately addressed in the draft EIS. Per the statement, they are slated to meet with OVG later this month to discuss concerns further. They also state that they are not involved with Hansen or any of his representatives. Previous comments by those associated with either apartment complex only dealt with limited elements expressed in Kaylor’s letter.</p>
<p id="xrkFP3">Will the final EIS adequately address all concerns, or is an appeal all but guaranteed?</p>
https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/6/18/17471174/seattle-center-arena-redevelopment-review-challenge-possible-project-delayMatt Tucker2018-04-27T20:29:46-07:002018-04-27T20:29:46-07:00Seattle Center Arena to be finalized in September in time for official NHL expansion award
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<p>Updated timeline to be presented to Seattle City Council on Monday</p> <p id="ABJSJh"><em><strong>Updated (4/28/18 1:16 pm PDT)</strong></em><em>: The </em><a href="http://seattle.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=6218380&GUID=F4124DF0-440E-4701-9680-8619810159F1"><em>presentation deck</em></a><em> for Monday’s council meeting is now available online. Relevant information has been updated in the article below.</em></p>
<p id="PT3gSf">The new Seattle Center Arena is on track to be finalized in September, reports of an updated timeline state. This will be in time for the expected official award of an expansion franchise to Seattle by the National Hockey League.</p>
<p id="hTCBRd">Our old friend Chris Daniels of KING5-TV has the <a href="https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/arena/seattle-center-arena-on-track-to-be-finalized-in-september/546743209">news of the new updated timeline</a> that will be presented to the Seattle City Council on Monday, April 30th. The timeline will be presented by Seattle Center director Robert Nellams and other staff members. It’s expected to include information about the buildings, businesses, and area surrounding the arena site.</p>
<p id="Yf5Hs7">Some notable milestones for the city council’s Select Committee on Civic Arenas presented in the update timeline:</p>
<ul>
<li id="sgoMVE">
<strong>May 10 -</strong> Review of transportation/mobility plans; arena design; draft EIS; building and land permitting; Community Benefits Agreement; plans for existing tenants; and arts proposals.</li>
<li id="GJJhkG">
<strong>July 26 -</strong> Full presentation of transaction documents made to the committee, including development agreement, lease agreement, and Seattle Center integration agreement. Also review of study on Seattle Center Monorail role in transportation plans and Controls & Incentives Agreement for the historical landmark process.</li>
<li id="2MlG7x">
<strong>August 10 -</strong> Review of all amendments to transaction documents and transportation/mobility plans; project financial framework; and tenants plans, labor agreements, community benefits, and parking.</li>
<li id="KB18B6">
<strong>September 14 -</strong> Final review on financial framework, transaction documents, and transportation/mobility plans. Vote to move out of committee and back to full council for consideration.</li>
</ul>
<p id="yAQmAg">If the committee votes to move the project back to the full council, as expected, the earliest the council could vote on final approval of the project would be Monday, September 17th.</p>
<p id="sa0Nzy">A draft version of the Environment Impact Statement for the arena project was <a href="https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/4/24/17275918/keyarena-draft-eis-online-open-house">made available to the public last week</a>. The public can comment on the document until June 7th. A public hearing will be held in Loft 2 of the Seattle Center Armory on May 14th from 6-9 pm as part of that commentary process. The Final EIS is scheduled to be complete by August 31st.</p>
<p id="M52exh">The NHL is expected to grant a conditional approval on expansion to Seattle in June following the end of the current season. Full approval is eyed for September and is speculated to be awaiting definitive action on the new arena.</p>
<p id="GLWwSF">If given the greenlight, arena investors Oak View Group plan to begin demolition of the existing arena interior in October. A two-year construction project is planned with the goal of opening the new arena in October 2020.</p>
<p id="TVJUER"><small><em>This article was updated on 4/28/18 to include information about project transaction documents and planned agendas for each milestone date.</em></small></p>
https://www.sonicsrising.com/2018/4/27/17294286/seattle-center-arena-finalized-september-nhl-expansionMatt Tucker