The city of Seattle officially confirmed Monday's reports of Chris Hansen reaching an agreement to build an arena that would be home to a new NBA team. Three Seattle City Council members announced the news on Tuesday, including Councilman Mike O'Brien.
The original agreement between the city and Hansen's group said Seattle would agree to contribute $200 million of public funding to the project. But on Tuesday, the City Council said the updated agreement includes several protections aimed to mitigate the deal's risk to the city. One such change is that Hansen could be forced to either buy the arena after 30 years or tear it down.
O'Brien says in 30 years if team decides to move, City can force Hansen to tear down arena and leave city with land as asset. Another wow.
— Dave Softy Mahler (@Softykjr) September 11, 2012
A revised memorandum of understanding showed that Hansen -- who has acquired land near the Seattle Seahawks' CenturyLink Field and the Seattle Mariners' Safeco Field -- has made changes to benefit the city's infrastructure. The changes reflect a promise to insure taxpayers that their money was being spent thoughtfully.
Also included in the revisions were $40 million slated to be spent on transportation infrastructure and a commitment by Hansen's group to help with renovations and upkeep of Key Arena, the former home of the Seattle SuperSonics.
Though the land would have to undergo an environmental review before the building of an arena could begin, only a vote now stands in the way of Hansen having the go-ahead to tell the NBA that Seattle is ready for a professional basketball team, CBS Sports reports.
For more on the Seattle arena developments, head over to SB Nation's NBA hub.