New Seattle arena approved by city, county council

The King County Council unanimously approved the new Seattle Arena plan, 9-0, and the Seattle City Council also approved the plan by a vote of 7-2, allowing developers to move forward with the development.

Hedge fund manager Chris Hansen now has complete approval to lead a group that wants to build a $490 million arena with $200 million in public funding to house a prospective NBA or NHL team. The public financing would come from rent money and admissions taxes on the arena.

Hansen hopes to build the arena near Safeco and CentruyLink Fields, where the Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks play.

The Seattle Mariners have opposed the construction of the new arena, citing congestion concerns as well as conflicts between NBA, NHL, MLB and concert schedules.

Hansen and his investment group has approval from both the county and the city to move forward with arena plans, but have yet to recruit an NHL or NBA franchise to Seattle.

This story originally appeared on SBNation.com.