Seattle mayor Ed Murray said back in October that he would be issuing a Request for Proposals for a KeyArena renovation some time in early January. Here we are in early January, and the RFP is coming.
The RFP is set to officially go out Wednesday, the 11th, according to the Seattle Times’ Geoff Baker. The date was announced by Seattle City Council member Debora Juarez, who also announced that the deadline for the proposals would be April 12th. Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), who currently operates KeyArena, was expected to make a bid, as was Tim Leiweke’s Oak View Group.
AEG has yet to unveil any kind of plans, while Leiweke has said that OVG would privately finance a renovation of KeyArena into a standalone concert venue that could be “converted” into a sports arena should the NBA or NHL decide to put a team there. He also said that it would cost much more than the $285 million suggested in the AECOM report, but that his preference would be to keep the current structure in tact.
Chris Hansen’s SODO project is still on hold while KeyArena is evaluated, despite him also offering to privately fund the nearly $500 million project. Occidental Avenue would need to be vacated before Hansen could begin construction, and he is expected to re-apply soon after being denied on May 2. Murray has said that the city will explore a KeyArena renovation before returning their attention to SODO.
Comments
WHAT
A waste of time. Only in Seattle.
By cloudable on 01.09.17 1:17pm
Study guys
Let’s study the heck out of it even though it’s been done many times by even more people.
Anyways.
Does this mean we’ll have some kind of concrete idea about the Key and it’s feasibility to host NBA/NHL franchises?
Or is it just another deadline in our long line of deadlines?
Oh, and how about the possible expansion process? Would we be able to be part of it, or is it just putting us on the bench watching others apply?
BTW: Given all the studies about pretty much everything, I guess Seattle’s the Mecca of knowledge and should easily find a solution for a modern arena, right?
By Silvio on 01.09.17 2:01pm
Not sure on expansion timing . . .
. . and how it meshes with the "Seattle process" – but we have Nesgoda saying the All-Star Break will have news of an expansion process – this would be before the Key RFP process concludes but I’m guessing the NBA expansion process is not on a very fast track – in other words, I’m guessing (IF Nesgoda is aright and IF Seattle can get it’s shit together on an arena), we should be right in the thick of the process.
Here is my wishlist -
(1) NBA does indeed open up an expansion process – maybe it’s a year long or so – and they announce publicly in late Feb – this puts some urgency into the corpses on the SCC
(2) The RFP process shows the Key mess to be completely worthless as a sports venue in this day and age for a number of reasons – traffic, parking, size of venue, etc. – they (SCC) figure this out by May (?)
(3) SCC claims publicly they ‘won’ against CH by getting him to cave on public money and points to the RFP as evidence that ok, SODO is it, but we want Lander and help with Key (no dinosaurs!) and you get your Occidental vacation
(4) Sonics are back in 2019 and Deborah Juarez and Sally Bagshaw say "look what we did"
By BellevueCoug on 01.09.17 2:40pm
In the last thread...
(and i’m paraphrasing), Kevin & Taylor indicated that they believed the the league will have a strong indication of where we (Seattle) is at sometime this month, before expansion is announced. In other-words, if AEG/OVP have a plan that works for Key Arena and the political optics show that this will get done, then the league will announce expansion. Remember, the April 12th due-date is when the formal report is due. Highly likely the powers to be have a strong indication on how this is shaking out well in advance of that date. The thought process is the same on the flip side. If AEG/OVP send signals that Key Arena is impossible, then they would still act on expansion if the city sent strong signals that ruling out Key Arena once-and-for-all would push SoDo through the finish-line.
By BBS117 on 01.09.17 2:58pm
So they take years to vette the SoDo proposal
but will have Key Arena figured out before proposals are even due?
By itsanospreybich on 01.09.17 7:21pm
I have a hard time believing that Key will be resolved in a timely fashion
given the logistic challenges of rebuilding a (bigger) facility in a residential area, the potential political opposition to thousands of sports fans stampeding LQA 40 to 80 days a year from its residents, and the challenges of transportation—-public and parking issues.
By NWEastcoaster on 01.10.17 7:05pm
Where did Nesgoda say that All-Star break will announce the expansion process?
By bgramer on 01.10.17 3:20pm
Here:
https://www.sonicsrising.com/2016/10/13/13264264/multiple-sources-nba-expansion-seattle
"I’ve heard that once the CBA is finished, the expansion bidding could be announced as soon as December or as late as the All-Star Game in February. There are going to be numerous other cities competing with Seattle to get the expansion franchises as well. I do not know if there is just going to be one slot or two….."
Same thing has been implied on other threads and twitter.
By BBS117 on 01.10.17 3:31pm
So is this timeline still true
Or is it delayed to satisfy the RFP process?
By Jeff - j1012 on 01.10.17 6:52pm
So true Matt
By Jeff - j1012 on 01.09.17 3:16pm
It's Seattle!
They never get anything done quickly!
By WoodLandSonic40316 on 01.09.17 3:54pm
Can I just say...
SF has had their arena delayed over two years and it’s privately financed and THEY HAVE A TEAM!
By Taylor Made on 01.09.17 4:19pm
True......
But the Arena in Sodo has been delayed for at least 4 years and still not shovel ready. Where as Milwaukee & Sacramento had their deals reached for the arenas after the sodo deal was reached. Sacramento opened in October and Milwaukee should be done by the 2018 season. I’m just so tired of the this process. Plus the city of Seattle let the team go for 45 million dollars and have a 500 million gift from Hansen but are taking their sweet time. Now I realize the city council could be doing this to appease the port of Seattle to show whether or not that Key Arena will work. But the process is just so mind numbingly slow!
By WoodLandSonic40316 on 01.09.17 4:35pm
I know
And I’m not trying to say the Seattle process isn’t a very real thing. Just pointing out that "only in Seattle" isn’t entirely true.
This RFP should have been issued as soon as Hansen passed on KeyArena. Or when the AECOM report came out. I’m glad it’s finally happening, just wondering why they didn’t check this box a long time ago.
By Taylor Made on 01.09.17 5:26pm
IMO, because
Because of the Hansen offer to go private. A possible viable Key Arena rebuild gets some members of the SCC out of the embarrassing position of voting down a street vacation for a privately financed arena because of the specious notion that the Port will lose jobs or because the street is needed by the port or some such nonsense.
By NWEastcoaster on 01.09.17 5:39pm
Huh?
Are you saying that they didn’t issue the RFP earlier because Hansen didn’t offer to go private?
By Taylor Made on 01.09.17 6:23pm
I believe
the city, in the absence of a better offer from Hansen, e.g., private financing, would have sat on their hands and tabled any further studies on the Key and continued with the status quo. The deal of a lifetime from Hansen, so to speak, put the RFP into serious play to allow some city council people to option to get behind a Key Arena rebuild (a privately financed one) so as to avoid having to confront voting for and again turning down a street vacation for a privately financed arena and risking national as well as local ridicule. Not that it is a sure thing that a street vacation for a privately financed arena would be voted down, but this is Seattle, with all of its establishment political forces weighing in against the deal as well as the natural time honored inclination among much of the local political establishment to punt when faced with voting for measures with paradigm shifting implications.
By NWEastcoaster on 01.09.17 7:23pm
Yes, so them not having their new arena
is not hurting their chances of getting a team.
By itsanospreybich on 01.09.17 7:30pm
Where was this ten years ago?
Only in Seattle
By Mark.S40 on 01.09.17 5:37pm
BINGO
This is exactly my point.
By cloudable on 01.09.17 6:11pm
Well ten years ago we had a basketball team
owned by a guy who had zero interest in a new arena.
By Taylor Made on 01.09.17 6:24pm
Yep
But hey, they put in a "good faith effort." lmfao
Though, we’ve actually had that stuff for over a dozen years now, given that Schultz brought up the arena being an issue way before he sold to the guys from OKC.
By Silvio on 01.10.17 2:54am
CD5's article
http://www.king5.com/mb/sports/seattle-announces-plans-to-request-keyarena-proposals/384598678?platform=hootsuite
By Jeff - j1012 on 01.09.17 5:37pm
Slightly off topic: Port of Seattle, Northwest Seaport Alliance seek to block Terminal 46 sale
The Northwest Seaport Alliance and the Port of Seattle have asked a judge to block the sale of the leased container shipping facilities at Seattle’s Terminal 46, saying the buyer has failed to provide proper financial security or disclose details about its finances.
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2017/01/09/exclusive-port-of-seattle-northwest-seaport.html?ana=e_sea_bn&u=ColXVN5SPzQtLHFP87ho2w07857290&t=1484009117&j=77022381
Need a subscription to access the full article.
By Mark.S40 on 01.09.17 5:40pm
Oh for heaven sake
The Korean shipping company is bankrupted. Trying to block it is only going to hurt themselves.
By gstommylee on 01.09.17 6:28pm