A new Seattle Arena proposal has been released to the media. Tim Booth of the AP explains:
SeattleArena proposal calls for $290 million in private investment and guarantee of both NBA and NHL franchises.
— Tim Booth (@ByTimBooth) February 16, 2012
Construction would start when both NHL/NBA teams acquired. Their lease with city would be 30 yrs, no relocation allowed. #SeattleArena
— Tim Booth (@ByTimBooth) February 16, 2012
Rough estimate is $800 million in private investment (arena/2 teams) and $200 million in public based off taxes. #SeattleArena
— Tim Booth (@ByTimBooth) February 16, 2012
Teams would play temporarily at KeyArena. Rough construction timetable would 2 years on new building. #SeattleArena
— Tim Booth (@ByTimBooth) February 16, 2012
More details:
Per @mattpitman: The proposal requires the securing of an NBA AND NHL team before anything can happen, binds KeyArena as ONLY temporary home
— Jessamyn McIntyre (@JessamynESPN) February 16, 2012
Seattle Major Mike McGinn stressed that it is still but a proposal. There is still work to be done, but the bottom line is that Christopher Hansen is the main investor and his group will be responsible for $290 million of the cost. The rest will be publicly funded but repaid with revenues from sporting events, concerts, etc in the building.
The building will be owned by the city and the tenants will pay rent. Next steps will be announced shortly.