According to the Seattle Times, the Seattle Mayor's office and a wealthy hedge-fund manager based in San Francisco have been working behind the scenes for the past eight months in an effort to bring the NBA back to Seattle. According to an article published on Saturday, "a Dec. 13 agenda for a meeting between the parties shows they were talking about details such as a "Review of Basic Deal Structure," "Financing Issues," including "City Debt Capacity," and "Security for Public Financing.""
That meeting was attended by Julie McCoy, chief of staff to Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, and Ethan Raup, the mayor's director of policy and operations, and was set up by Carl Hirsh, a New Jersey arena consultant hired by the city in July. They also discussed using KeyArena, where the Sonics played, as a temporary home for a new team with the permission of the NBA until a new stadium could be built.
As for Christopher Hansen, the mysterious hedge-fund manager who is spearheading this effort - he's a 44-year old Seattle native with, apparently, the means to do some investing. He approached the city with his idea, and his vision was laid out in an email to McCoy and Raup, that was obtained by the Times in a public disclosure request:
"Thanks for spending the time today guys. I really appreciate it and look forward to making this happen in Seattle. I genuinely mean that and am confident that with a little effort and creativity we can find a solution that meets our needs and the City's /State's desire to get a team back to Seattle without a large public outlay."
Make sure you check out that Seattle Times piece for more on the situation. We'll keep you updated as new developments go public.