The Seattle City Council seems to have finally agreed tentatively to a Sodo project that would be the site of a new basketball arena. Lynn Thompson of Seattle Times has the initial report. Also, KING 5's Chris Daniel's - who has been in front of this story from Day 1, has this report.
The deal will assuage concerns from the city's industries in the Port and manufacturing sectors. There will be improved roads to help out Seattle Port container operations along with railway lines and truck activity, all of which will be funded by Hansen's group. $40 million of the tax revenue would go into these infrastructure improvements, inluding an overhaul of KeyArena.
There have been plenty of arena holdups by the city council, many of which have to deal with public financing and potential industrial issues. Citizens of Seattle seem to also desire an arena that privately financed.
There have been issues also with how this deal would satisfy Initiative 91, where it's required that the city needs to profit off a sports facility, something that wouldn't be totally guaranteed by the new arena. The new deal seems to solve most of these problems, where the city would be able to move forward with pertinent upgrades in the city's facilities and transportation.
For more on Seattle's new sports arena, make sure to follow this StoryStream.
