Seattle has been laying out the plans for a new and modern NBA arena that would be able to house a new team. The plan is for the arena to be housed in Sodo which would be near the port city.
However, the Port of Seattle isn't certain whether the project will work well for overall traffic in the area. The port of Seattle would be situated very close to the site of the arena, which would mean that things might get very congested down the line.
Could opposition grow to the point that Seattle might have to find a new site? Emily Heffter of the Seattle Times filed this report.
They forecast a doomsday scenario for Sodo if the 18,000-seat arena is built: It snowballs into hotels, restaurants and shopping. Traffic congestion slows freight, so shipping companies start using other ports, erasing thousands of middle-class jobs and a $3 billion industry.
"Placing the arena in the proposed site is more than symbolic," said Port Commissioner Bill Bryant. "It is part of a bigger decision about what sort of city we want to have and whether we are going to embrace family-wage and industrial jobs in South Seattle."
It certainly does seem alarmist, but you do have to figure that an arena in the same area as a ballpark and a football stadium could congest things up a little bit. We'll have to what comes of this.