KING5.com
Posted on June 19, 2012 at 12:07 PM
Updated today at 5:18 PM
SEATTLE -- Port officials say placing a new sports arena in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood without significant transportation improvements would be a "job killer."
Investor Chris Hansen is working on a deal with King County and the City of Seattle for an arena near the Mariners and Seahawks stadiums that could host NBA and NHL franchises. But business and labor groups oppose that idea, saying a new stadium would exacerbate traffic problems in the industrial area south of downtown.
Port of Seattle Commissioner Tom Albro told the King County Council on Tuesday that a third stadium would be a "job killer" unless a lot of money is spent mitigating the impact of a new facility. Albro said he's not opposed to bringing the NBA back to Seattle, but other locations should be considered.
"Basketball, good. That siting, without massive mitigation, bad," Albro said. "Siting an arena there is a job killer for us."
County Councilman Larry Gossett pushed back against Albro's claim that a new SoDo arena would cost jobs.
"I don't know how you can already be able to make that prediction, when in fact traffic mitigation has already been looked at by the city ... nothing remotely suggests that the building of a stadium in SoDo would be massively bad for our community," Gossett said.
County Councilman Joe McDermott also asked Albro which current Port projects would be impacted. Albro could not come up with an answer.
Albro openly wondered why there is a rush to make a decision.
?We have no team in hand,? said Albro.
The city and county councils are expected to vote on the proposed arena deal later this summer, but McDermott said there is ?no artificial time frame? and ?no rush? to make a decision. Councilman Pete von Reichbauer said the process may take longer than some people want.
Tay Yoshitani, chief executive officer of the port, told the council's transportation panel that large regional companies like Boeing and Weyerhaeuser depend on the Port of Seattle to get their products to market. Yoshitani said there are already 7,000 daily truck trips to Seattle terminals, rail yards and distribution centers. That could jump to more than 11,000 daily trips as the port expands, he said.
"Our ask is that you please consider all these issues carefully, because we believe a lot is at stake," Yoshitani said.
Hansen has proposed building a nearly $500 million, 18,000-seat arena just south of Safeco and CenturyLink fields. The plan calls for nearly $300 million in private investment from Hansen's group, which includes Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The amount of public support would be $200 million if an NBA and NHL franchise moved here. New owners moved the Seattle SuperSonics, now known as the Thunder, to Oklahoma City in 2008.
Supporters of the new Seattle arena plan say traffic concerns raised by business and labor are overblown and that most of the events at a new facility would be held at night.
Legality questioned
Former Seattle city councilmember Pete Steinbrueck, now an architect and land use expert, helped pass an ordinance back in 2000 to create a "stadium transition overlay district,? which he says was designed to create pedestrian connections and maintain separation of commercial and industrial development.
He says Hansen's proposed arena would likely violate that ordinance and put area development in quote "non-compliance" with city and county policies.
"To approve that in advance of this analysis raises serious legal questions and is ill advised, I would say,? he said.
Steinbrueck also questions whether an arena could fit within the boundaries of the district.
Hansen, who testified before the county council on Tuesday, says his land investment may be $60 million by the time he's done and he believes it?s perfectly legal.
"The site is in the stadium overlay zone, we've done our homework with the city and county,? he said.
Hansen says NBA return will require patience
In an interview with the Associated Press Tuesday, Hansen said he hopes supporters don't get disillusioned if it ends up taking five to seven years for pro basketball to return.
While Hansen said he expects more options for NBA franchise relocations to become available over the next five years, he cautioned it could be a lengthy process.
Hansen declined to talk about specific franchises or details about discussions with the NBA.
Hansen added that any additional investors would likely remain silent until a team has been acquired. Last week, Hansen announced that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer would be part of the investment group for the arena and an NBA franchise.
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