The MOU is here.

The proposed interlocal agreement is here.

The letter from the city and county executives to their respective city councils is here.

The public investment — capped at $200 million in bonds, to be repaid through arena taxes and revenues — would be limited to $120 million if just an NBA team is secured first. The remainder would be added once an NHL team signs on, officials said.

Once both teams are secured, the city’s investment would be $120 million, and the county’s $80 million. Until an NHL team signs on, the city’s obligation would be $115 million and the county’s would be $5 million, because the city would receive more of the revenue.

A proposed Interlocal Agreement also was sent to both councils today.

ArenaCo, the investment group led by Hansen, would pay construction costs and overruns. And construction wouldn’t begin until an NBA team was secured with a 30-year non-relocation agreement. Hansen and his yet-to-be-named investors would contribute up to $290 million, and buy an NBA team.

The Seattle Times report is here.

[edited, updated]
Our concept of time, and how long we feel we wait for something, is a curious thing.

Waiting on the Memorandum Of Understanding between the City of Seattle, King County, and Chris Hansen.

At some point it will happen, a point in space and time of its own making.
(it happens when it happens, that’s Wednesday)

Barring any last-minute hurdles in the negotiations, the unveiling of the agreement is set for 10:30 a.m. at the Chinook Building. Hansen is expected to be present on Wednesday morning’s event.
Kingtv.com, Sources: Seattle arena ‘memo of understanding’ to be unveiled Wednesday

You can post comments there.

At the Seattle Times.

Seattle should listen to shipping industry’s concerns about proposed arena

SEATTLE shipping interests’ opposition to the proposed basketball arena is a serious matter. The Port of Seattle, BNSF Railway, the Pacific Maritime Shipping Association and the Manufacturing Industrial Council have raised alarms about the effect of a third sports venue on the movement of freight. The city of Seattle should listen to these voices and take them seriously.

We like baseball, football, basketball and hockey. We want them all. But ocean commerce on the Seattle waterfront is more than a $3 billion-a-year industry, employing tens of thousands. It cannot move, although its business certainly can — to other ports. Unlike a basketball game, the loading of an ocean ship must be done on the waterfront.

Two stadiums have been built near the marine terminals, hemmed in on the east and west by railroad yards. Most of the fans arrive at games by car. The new arena would be smaller than either of the existing ones, but still would attract up to 8,000 cars per event.

It is true that most of the freight moves in the day and the games are in the evening, but game traffic builds up several hours before the games. Already the two stadiums have to separate their game times by at least four hours to avoid gridlock. The Port has plans to increase container volume in the years ahead.

Roads can be improved to solve some of these problems, but at a cost. When the football stadium was built, port users were promised three new overpasses. Two were built, and only one, at Edgar Martinez Drive, is really useful.

Promoter Chris Hansen has not volunteered to pay for hundreds of millions of dollars in needed traffic improvements. He says the traffic problems are not his fault because they existed before he bought the property. Just so. His fault was in buying it.

No doubt it seemed like a good idea at the time. Two stadiums were there already, so why not a third? It may be that two’s company and three’s a crowd.

Offered without comment:

by KING 5 SPORTS
Posted on May 8, 2012 at 6:09 PM

Sodo arena developer Chris Hansen attended a breakfast to raise money and awareness for “A PLUS” youth program at the Rainier Beach Boys & Girls Club.  Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, former Blazer Brandon Roy, and NBA stars Jamal Crawford & Martell Webster attended, too.  Hansen talks about the program, hanging with Roy, Crawford, and Webster, and NBA players being role models.

go to King5.com and watch the video

It’s going to be tougher on sports franchise owners going forward in light of the current arena proposal from Chris Hansen that avoids creating new taxes (they exist when the business exists), and avoids taking from the city, county, state, general funds. This is new for Seattle, and tough to put together in other states.

Read the rest of this entry »

Well on and on and on and on
I can’t stop y’all ’til the early morn’
So rock y’all tick tock y’all to the beat y’all
C’mon and rock y’all
I give thanks for inspiration
It guides my mind along the way
A lot of people get jealous, they’re talking about me
But that’s just ‘cause they haven’t got a thing to say

Buried in Steve Kelley’s column in which he suggests that the NBA should force the sale of the Sacramento Kings to Seattle arena developer Chris Hansen he, Kelley, notes the timeline of the Memorandum of Understanding.

Recently, Hansen has been working with Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and King County executive Dow Constantine on a Memorandum of Understanding that could be ready as early as next week.
After that, the city and county councils will vote on the arena proposal, probably around the middle of June.
Steve Kelley, The Seattle Times, Heightened dispute over Kings puts Seattle closer to NBA team

Some nice thoughts from Steve Kelley, but the experience of our recient past makes me think that a forced sale is little more than wishful thinking, no matter how much sense it makes.

Anything is possible, we should consider it all.

It feels like the MOU will be more of its own product that is in a more developed form than the larger proposal that would include the details of the entire proposal.
We shall see.