NBA back to Seattle? NHL too?

[ninersdd]

In all seriousness, great, fantastic, phenomenal news.

POTD?

[RedSox44]

In all seriousness, great, fantastic, phenomenal news.

POTD?

Hopefully not.

That wasn't THAT funny.

[zpqmaowl]

Nah, not PotD material, but I did think of that Hansen, too.

[RedSox44]

Nah, not PotD material, but I did think of that Hansen, too.

Too obvious for it to be POTD material.

And someone funnier than me (read: just about everyone else in this forum) was probably more deserving.

[DustDevil61]

http://publicola.com/2012/02/15/late-afternoon-fizz-arena-announcement-expected-tomorrow/

Mayor Mike McGinn is expected to announce a deal to bring a new NBA arena to Seattle sometime tomorrow. The Sacramento Kings are viewed as the team most likely to move here, since the city of Sacramento is under a March 1 deadline to either come up with an arena proposal or lose the team. Seattle has been without an NBA team since 2008, when the Seattle Supersonics moved to Oklahoma.

From a sucky local news blog, but could be exciting. Our mayor is a total buffoon, however, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

This is great news! I hope it's not the Kings that end up moving there if/when a team moves (as opposed to the Hornets, as discussed before), but at least one of the NBA's biggest mistakes will have been fixed as best as it could. I'll try to keep my ears and eyes open tomorrow.

[DarkJourney]

When I see a foundation poured and steel framework going up, then I will be excited for Seattle citizens

[dbadefense1990]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017517805_hansen16m.html

Christopher Hansen, the wealthy San Francisco mystery man who wants to build a sports arena in Seattle to lure NBA and NHL teams, will unveil his proposal at a news conference Thursday, according to two city sources.

"We're very close to announcing our offer to the city. That's why I'm here," the 44-year-old hedge-fund manager said in a Wednesday interview with The Seattle Times, though he declined to discuss the timing He met with three Seattle City Council members Wednesday to talk briefly about his desire to bring an NBA franchise to Seattle.

Hansen told The Times he is only reluctantly stepping forward now because of the intense interest and speculation around his arena proposal, the details of which are still not known. The news conference is scheduled for 2 p.m.

But Hansen, speaking in self-effacing tones, did talk about his deep Seattle roots, his modest upbringing in the Rainier Valley and his desire to help a city where he still closely follows all the professional sports teams.

Check back soon for more details from the exclusive interview with Hansen.

Uh oh Sacramento...you're screwed now.

[rvrdgsfn]

On Twitter:

“@rghuman: KIRO 7 (CBS Seattle) is broadcasting the press conference live at 2pm for the new arena #nba #nhl #sonics #seattle

@ChrisDaniels5

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, acknowledges via email, league closely following #SeattleArena announcement. #NHL

from: https://twitter.com/#!/ChrisDaniels5...34813016576000

Looks like its starting up.

[bigbean24]

Does anybody have a feed?

[maxweb81]

http://www.kirotv.com/s/watch-kiro-7-live/

Maybe this will work?

[rvrdgsfn]

It's also on King 5

http://www.king5.com/

They mentioned the Metropolitans winning the cup in 1917 & got a good round of applause.

So far...

"... NBA, NHL, concerts, and other cultural events."

"$200,000,000 from city and county that will be generated by veneue."

"City and county will ultimately own the land and facility."

Investors will cover shortfalls and guarantee payment for the public funding.

King County exec Dow Constantine is talking up attracting the NHL.

[bosrs1]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017517805_hansen16m.html

Christopher Hansen, the wealthy San Francisco mystery man who wants to build a sports arena in Seattle to lure NBA and NHL teams, will unveil his proposal at a news conference Thursday, according to two city sources.

"We're very close to announcing our offer to the city. That's why I'm here," the 44-year-old hedge-fund manager said in a Wednesday interview with The Seattle Times, though he declined to discuss the timing He met with three Seattle City Council members Wednesday to talk briefly about his desire to bring an NBA franchise to Seattle.

Hansen told The Times he is only reluctantly stepping forward now because of the intense interest and speculation around his arena proposal, the details of which are still not known. The news conference is scheduled for 2 p.m.

But Hansen, speaking in self-effacing tones, did talk about his deep Seattle roots, his modest upbringing in the Rainier Valley and his desire to help a city where he still closely follows all the professional sports teams.

Check back soon for more details from the exclusive interview with Hansen.

Uh oh Sacramento...you're screwed now.

Not yet. The ball is still in their court while they're working through their stadium proposal, which is getting close to the point where they'll vote on it. It passes, it'll be the Hornets.

[UnclearInitial]

Sactown arena proposals makes Maloofs responsible for $85M of $387M

[bosrs1]

Sactown arena proposals makes Maloofs responsible for $85M of $387M

Seems more than fair. If the Maloofs can't afford this relatively small amount they shouldn't be owners in the NBA anymore.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

One write-up of the stadium deal puts it in the almost in the "too good to be true" category:

Under the terms of the proposal introduced this afternoon by Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and King County Executive Dow Constantine, a private investment group led by Seattle-born Chris Hansen, would put up $290 million toward building a new sports arena just south of Safeco Field, matched by a joint city/county contribution capped at $200 million. The city/county would own the arena, with its debt service paid through a combination of taxes generated by the facility, and rent paid by both the teams and the facility operator. In years where revenue falls short of the debt obligation, the teams and operator would be required to pay additional rent to cover the difference.

The city/county would issue a 30-year bond to finance its portion of the construction costs, and the teams would sign a 30-year lease with a binding non-relocation clause. Under the terms of the current proposal, the city/county would not issue its bond until both NBA and NHL teams have been secured. The whole proposal is designed to make the deal entirely risk-free to taxpayers. Hanson will lead the group to acquire an NBA franchise, and is working to secure a partner to acquire an NHL team.

When you count in the cost of acquiring the teams, we're looking at a $200 million public investment leveraging $800 million in private investment.

Please forgive the blog postings, but Seattle blogs are generally okay on big pictures, if you can accept the inherent bias.

Anyway, if this is the deal and it actually happens, this might well be the path forward for future publicly financed (note: NOT funded) stadium plans. The municipality uses its bonding capacity to help pay for the capital costs, while demanding its debt service to be repaid by private funds with covenants to protect the public in case of lean years. Essentially, the city and county are leveraging their good credit standing for a 30-year commitment from an NBA and NHL team. Provided the public doesn't confuse "financing" for "funding" (which is already happening, unfortunately), this is pretty amazing.

EDIT: And from the Seattle Times:

The $500 million arena would be paid for mostly by a private investment group led by Seattle native Christopher Hansen, but includes city and county financing that would be repaid over the next 30 years through rent on the arena and tax revenue it generates, including property, sales and admissions taxes.

The proposal includes no new taxes, and the city and county wouldn't pay anything until the teams were secured. Construction would take about two years.

The investors would rent the facility from the city and county, and Fred Podesta, the director of finance and administrative services for Seattle, said if there's a revenue shortfall, taxpayers would still be protected by an agreement that investors would pay the difference.

The deal also requires a "security fund" set up by the investors, which would eventually include three year's worth of debt payments. The investors would also have a fund for upgrades, so the city wouldn't be responsible for fixing up the arena as it ages.

The contract would require the NBA team to stay for 30 years -- the duration of the lease.

[rams80]

Sactown arena proposals makes Maloofs responsible for $85M of $387M

Seems more than fair. If the Maloofs can't afford this relatively small amount they shouldn't be owners in the NBA anymore.

They can't and shouldn't, but that's not exactly news.

[dfwabel]

One write-up of the stadium deal puts it in the almost in the "too good to be true" category:

Under the terms of the proposal introduced this afternoon by Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and King County Executive Dow Constantine, a private investment group led by Seattle-born Chris Hansen, would put up $290 million toward building a new sports arena just south of Safeco Field, matched by a joint city/county contribution capped at $200 million. The city/county would own the arena, with its debt service paid through a combination of taxes generated by the facility, and rent paid by both the teams and the facility operator. In years where revenue falls short of the debt obligation, the teams and operator would be required to pay additional rent to cover the difference.

The city/county would issue a 30-year bond to finance its portion of the construction costs, and the teams would sign a 30-year lease with a binding non-relocation clause. Under the terms of the current proposal, the city/county would not issue its bond until both NBA and NHL teams have been secured. The whole proposal is designed to make the deal entirely risk-free to taxpayers. Hanson will lead the group to acquire an NBA franchise, and is working to secure a partner to acquire an NHL team.

When you count in the cost of acquiring the teams, we're looking at a $200 million public investment leveraging $800 million in private investment.

Please forgive the blog postings, but Seattle blogs are generally okay on big pictures, if you can accept the inherent bias.

Anyway, if this is the deal and it actually happens, this might well be the path forward for future publicly financed (note: NOT funded) stadium plans. The municipality uses its bonding capacity to help pay for the capital costs, while demanding its debt service to be repaid by private funds with covenants to protect the public in case of lean years. Essentially, the city and county are leveraging their good credit standing for a 30-year commitment from an NBA and NHL team. Provided the public doesn't confuse "financing" for "funding" (which is already happening, unfortunately), this is pretty amazing.

EDIT: And from the Seattle Times:

The $500 million arena would be paid for mostly by a private investment group led by Seattle native Christopher Hansen, but includes city and county financing that would be repaid over the next 30 years through rent on the arena and tax revenue it generates, including property, sales and admissions taxes.

The proposal includes no new taxes, and the city and county wouldn't pay anything until the teams were secured. Construction would take about two years.

The investors would rent the facility from the city and county, and Fred Podesta, the director of finance and administrative services for Seattle, said if there's a revenue shortfall, taxpayers would still be protected by an agreement that investors would pay the difference.

The deal also requires a "security fund" set up by the investors, which would eventually include three year's worth of debt payments. The investors would also have a fund for upgrades, so the city wouldn't be responsible for fixing up the arena as it ages.

The contract would require the NBA team to stay for 30 years -- the duration of the lease.

I listened to it on line and after hearing them way poetic about thier childhood love for the old Sonics, it IS too good to be true especially when the private sector does not show up to elaborate on his own proposal and leaves it to the mayor and county chief. They also sounded overly optimistic on how taxes assessed for games and related events would be enough for the project.

The terms of rent and payback sounds similar to how the Islanders were to pay back Nassau County on their last failed referendum.

Sadly, one can look at Santa Clara to see how a team can say they they can get loans on their side only to have they city take out the entire loan in opposition to the referendum which the voters passed.

Hansen has to buy a team, pay the NBA a relocation fee, and then have money left over for his share of the facility. Can he really do that for $500M (plus overruns)? The last three relocation fees were $30M (Memphis, New Orleans, and OKC). The NHL reportedly got $60M for the Thrashers and when Larry Ellison was interested in moving the Hornets to San Jose, the reported fee was to be $150M.

[WSU151]

Hansen has to buy a team, pay the NBA a relocation fee, and then have money left over for his share of the facility. Can he really do that for $500M (plus overruns)?

What?

DG - any talk about who is responsible for arena improvements over the 30 year lease? Is there an opt-out clause of any kind?

[DG_ThenNowForever]

From the Seattle Times:

At the news conference, McGinn and Constantine stressed the ways the public was protected:

? A security fund that could cover three years of debt payments. The investors would also have a fund for upgrades, so the city wouldn't be responsible for fixing up the arena as it ages.

? A requirement that any teams agree to stay for 30 years. The proposal includes no new taxes, and the city and county wouldn't pay anything until the teams were secured.

? A deal that the private investors take the risk and pay shortfalls if there are any.

[WSU151]

From the Seattle Times:

At the news conference, McGinn and Constantine stressed the ways the public was protected:

? A security fund that could cover three years of debt payments. The investors would also have a fund for upgrades, so the city wouldn't be responsible for fixing up the arena as it ages.

? A requirement that any teams agree to stay for 30 years. The proposal includes no new taxes, and the city and county wouldn't pay anything until the teams were secured.

? A deal that the private investors take the risk and pay shortfalls if there are any.

My bad - missed those points in your earlier post.