[Dougall5505]

As you probably all know I am not a Seattlian. But I am a huge sports fan(go blazers/ducks) so this news caught my eye. I also don't know how into sports the seattle forumers are but I firgured they could be interested in the arena if it turned into a huge mixed use project a la the new nets arena in brookyln.

Sonics Hire Team To Design New Arena In Seattle Area
28th November, 2006 - 8:32 pm
RealGM/Press Release -
Perhaps the Sonics won't be leaving the Seattle area after all.

Clay Bennett, Chairman of the Seattle Sonics and Storm ownership group, will host a news conference on Wednesday to announce the retention of an architecture and design firm to design a new multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena in the greater Seattle region.

[InlandEmpire]

Hey that's great news! HOK sport? That would be a cool team to work with. I am glad to see the NBA stay in the area- I loved going to Blazers games when I lived in PDX and should get to a Sonics game. Wonder if the new arena would be in the Bellevue or Renton area maybe? PS... I think maybe it's Seattlites? :tup:

[James Bond Agent 007]

I think they should renovate the Tacoma Dome and put them there.

[mSeattle]

They want something newer and bigger don't they? It would be great for Tacoma though.

[PacificNW]

Not to be negative but I think the Oklahoma City ownership group is playing head games with Seattle. They have a new arena waiting for the Sonics, unless, of course, they make a deal with Paul Allen and sell him the Sonics for the Blazers. But the Blazers have an even tighter lease agreement with the Rose Garden. It will prove interesting to see how this all plays out for the NBA in the Pacific Northwest.

[Castillonis]

I am almost certian that they will build a new stadium in Bellevue and be called the Seattle Sonics. Seattle city does not want to renovate the current location. There is bad blood between the two groups. Bellevue has approached and is supportive. City had ideas such as an arcade or a film school in mind.

[PacificNW]

I think the OKC group wants to give the impression of working with the Seattle area "in good faith" when they are actually planning on relocating the Sonics in 2007 to OKC. Why would they spend a couple hundred million dollars on a new arena when they have a new arena in OKC where the ownership lives and works? Spending a few million in Seattle doing a study on a possible site is pennies compared to the actual cost of developing and building a new arena. The New Orleans Hornets will be returning to New Orleans full time next season. Their Katrina damaged arena has been refurbished and ready to go.

[MrVandelay]

I don't know....I really don't think anyone would spend large amounts of money just to make a statement. It may not seem like much when compared to large volumes of cash, but a million is still a million follks. I used to work construction and seen major fights just over $10K on a multi million dollar project.

I'm happy to hear the news. I hope that they do stay, and If a new stadium is built, I hope its here in Bellevue :)

[Black Box]

I'm in the shrug bunch. They stay, they stay. They go, they go.

[Seasun]

I tend to agree with a quote in the article below that says a few million bucks of PR at least might keep people buying season tickets. I do not understand why OKC folks who supposedly have an arena would ever keep the Sonics in the Seattle area. I don't really care if the Sonics stay in the region but I do care that my taxes don't subsidize very well paid players and owners. The fact that Key Areana still has construction debt that will last beyond the Sonics lease just shows poor financial planning if viewed as a drain on City finances.
article from http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061130/NEWS/611300338

Bellevue still possibility for Sonics: Site on 'auto row' becomes latest potential new home


By David A. Grant and Dean Radford
Journal Reporters


A new site on Bellevue's "auto row" has emerged as a possible home for the Seattle SuperSonics, even as Renton underscores its role as a significant player in the competition to host the NBA team.

The latest property to be mentioned publicly for a "world-class" basketball arena is a nearly 15-acre site in Bellevue that lies between Interstate 405 and 116th Avenue Northeast between Northeast Fourth and Eighth streets, both of which have freeway on-off ramps.

That site now houses the two-story Lincoln Center office park, an auto dealership, The Coast Bellevue Hotel and a Denny's restaurant. The total assessed value of the six parcels that make up the property is more than $33 million, according to King County property records.

The taxpayer for the largest parcel, at 4.4 acres, is Cushman & Wakefield, the commercial real estate brokerage hired by the Sonics to conduct a search for possible arena sites.

On Wednesday, team officials announced they have hired HOK Sport to design a "multipurpose sports and entertainment arena." But it will not be built in Seattle, where voters earlier this month overwhelmingly backed a measure restricting use of city tax money to subsidize sports teams.

The search for a new location includes Renton, a few miles south of Bellevue on Interstate 405, where team officials "are looking at multiple sites," said Alex Pietsch, the administrator for the city's Economic Development, Neighborhoods and Strategic Planning.

Pietsch said he's not at liberty to disclose the location of those sites. However, he said they asked what uses were allowed at the sites and what transportation improvements are planned, a key issue for the Sonics.

The Sonics were sold in October to a group of investors from Oklahoma City headed by businessman Clay Bennett. Bennett has said he wants to keep the team in Seattle, despite the existence of an NBA-quality arena in Oklahoma City

Bennett has hired a team of real estate experts, attorneys and architects to search out an arena location and design the building.

HOK has helped design dozens of basketball, baseball, football and civic facilities.

At least two other sites are being considered in Bellevue. One is a 36-acre parcel owned by grocery chain Safeway, which announced recently its intent to sell the property by the end of the year.

The buyer is a partnership between a Seattle development company and a San Francisco investment firm. Officials have said they want to rezone the property for office buildings and other uses, but would consider a basketball arena as well.

The third property is a 14.5-acre parcel located next to a garbage transfer station owned by King County just north of Interstate 90 and east of I-405, off Southeast Eastgate Way.

Matt Terry, Bellevue's planning director, said the Sonics have kept him informed about the selection process as the team winnows its list of more than 20 sites to a handful of finalists.

"I've gotten periodic phone calls about it but at this point there's nothing new to report," Terry said. "It's entirely up to the Sonics. We're just sort of monitoring what they're doing and waiting for the clouds to part."

Kemper Freeman Jr., the owner of Bellevue Square mall and a self-proclaimed cheerleader for a multi-use entertainment venue in Bellevue, said the auto row property makes sense but only if local and state governments make roadway improvements so thousands of fans could get in and out quickly.

"We can't just add a stadium without making infrastructure improvements, wherever it goes," Freeman said. "Government needs to make sure fans have access."

Terry said any decision on such improvements would be up to the City Council.

Meanwhile, Sonics owners, including Bennett, and other representatives have met or talked by phone since April with Renton city officials, including Mayor Kathy Keolker, chief administrative officer Jay Covington and Pietsch.

Keolker enthusiastically placed the city's welcome mat at Bennett's feet at a meeting of the County Council's Regional Policy Committee in early November.

Bennett told the committee the Sonics would need at least 15 acres, but 30 acres is preferred. He's not looking for a design that is "iconic" or makes an artistic statement, but is approachable and becomes part of the landscape, he said.

The team earlier indicated it expected to narrow its list of sites in King County to a short list by the end of November.

Bill Taylor, president of the Greater Renton Chamber of Commerce, said he won't speculate about possible sites for a Sonics' arena. But he's sure the city could accommodate the teams' needs.

"I think if they were serious about coming here, we would be able to find something," he said.

Hiring a design team now, Pietsch said, demonstrates the seriousness of the Sonics' interest in moving ahead quickly to evaluate sites and have a plan in place to present to the state Legislature in January.

But finding tax money to support the new arena's construction may be tough sell in Olympia, where legislators would need to approve a funding package — such as taxes on hotel rooms, car rentals and sales — to pay for it.

Bennett has said he's opposed to a public vote on a financing package for a new arena and would expect the Legislature to come up with the public's share of the money to build an arena.

Chris Van Dyk, co-founder of Citizens for Better Things, the group that pushed for the November passage of Initiative 91 in Seattle, said public funding will be dead in Olympia if King County residents don't get to vote on it.

The initiative, passed overwhelmingly by Seattle voters, restricts the use of city tax money to subsidize sports teams, effectively killing any chance of the Sonics staying in the city.

"There will be no deal for the Sonics in the state of Washington involving any dime without a public vote," Van Dyk said Wednesday. "It's simply not going to happen."

He called the team's hunt for a new arena site "window dressing that simply keeps fans buying tickets and thinking they will stay in town."

Freeman agreed that tax money in support of an arena will be difficult.

"Due to the history, I think the likelihood of major public support is close to zero," Freeman said. "The good news is, a well-designed arena will not need public funding."

Betty Nokes, CEO and president of the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber has not taken a position on whether public funding should be used to help pay for an arena.

"From a business perspective, we want to keep them in the region," Nokes said. "If it's not Seattle, we want it to be in Bellevue."

[northface]

i want bellevue...if not bellevue...i will settle with renton. lol

[rooter]

PS... I think maybe it's Seattlites? :tup:
I thought it was Seattlogs... Seattlatalians?

[Dougall5505]

oh shoot my bad i guess im used to oregonian :)

[InlandEmpire]

So it is HOK Sport...cool!

[AZchristopher]

Only way I think this works for both sides is if an NHL team comes from it.

I just have a problem seeing Seattle as a two sport city. I also see a problem though seeing a bunch of OK City people trying to pretend they want to stay here. But then maybe they fell in love with the sport last year but understand that a winning team in Seattle will make a lot more money? Who knows.

[Skian]

Did you hear that Mayor Nickles is demanding a share (for Seattle) of any state support for the new Sonic's Arena?

[J. Will]

Nearly 4 million people less than a 3-hour drive from Canada seems like a no-brainer for an NHL team, but from what I understand hockey (and even skating) isn't that popular in Seattle. Plus, the NHL won't be expanding for years, and the Pens are the only team that is in danger of moving in the next few years.

[HawksFan]

If I remember correctly, isn't it the old sonics owners fault there is no NHL team in Saettle? He went in with a group to make a bid in the last expansion and pulled them out. Something like he wanted the OKC Sonics to be the only professional tanant in the building. Instead, teams ended up in Pitt, and TB. Does anyone else know anything about this?

[J. Will]

If I remember correctly, isn't it the old sonics owners fault there is no NHL team in Saettle? He went in with a group to make a bid in the last expansion and pulled them out. Something like he wanted the OKC Sonics to be the only professional tanant in the building. Instead, teams ended up in Pitt, and TB. Does anyone else know anything about this?

Pittsburgh has been in the NHL since 1967. Tampa Bay was awarded in 1990.

[robbobpdx]

PS... I think maybe it's Seattlites? :tup:

I thought it was too. I know you probably don't need another Portlander, and Oregonian (like me) to weigh in on the nickname. I thought Seattlites was because of the Space Needle and Worlds Fair.

On the areana topic, though, I have to agree with others that a lot of head games are being played. Paul Allen may want the Sonics rather than the Blazers (some Blazer fans may wish much of the bad karma that Paul Allen has reeped on Portland would be SHARED with Seattle a little more -- like having him own the Sonics) :)

But didn't the Key Arena just get remodeled? Not good enough? We've got two side-by-side arenas here, and now it looks like they're keeping BOTH of them (who knows why?). Hope you guys have better luck with your arena.

[AZchristopher]

The Key has two problems associated with it that makes an NBA team impossible to make a profit. First the Sonics have the worst Arena deal in basketball. Second its the smallest Arena in basetball.

The problem was that the way the last ownership went to try and get a new deal done was to act like they were entitled. Which they weren't/aren't.

I read the other day that the NBA is not willing to leave Seattle. That they want the current ownership to try everything possible because of the size differences in the market.

As for hockey I always figured the reason Seattle didn't seem like a hockey town is because very few places get up for minor league teams for any sport when they have major teams in other sports there.

It is Seattlites... always has been.

[J. Will]

"As for hockey I always figured the reason Seattle didn't seem like a hockey town is because very few places get up for minor league teams for any sport when they have major teams in other sports there."

The questioning was why Seattle doesn't have an NHL team, not a minor league hockey team.

[PacificNW]

For the NHL a larger arena is required...Key is too small.

[AZchristopher]

"As for hockey I always figured the reason Seattle didn't seem like a hockey town is because very few places get up for minor league teams for any sport when they have major teams in other sports there."

The questioning was why Seattle doesn't have an NHL team, not a minor league hockey team.

I was replying to the comment that hockey isn't that big in Seattle. Seattle has a minor league hockey team.

[J. Will]

Seattle has a Canadian Hockey League team. That is junior hockey. "Minor hockey" is usually used to refer to minor pro.

[AZchristopher]

Seattle has a Canadian Hockey League team. That is junior hockey. "Minor hockey" is usually used to refer to minor pro.

Who the hell gives a shit? If anything you just made my point better. The point was that the reason hockey isn't popular in Seattle is because there is no major league hockey team.

I could care less what league the Thunderbirds are in. Its not the NHL.

[MrVandelay]

Bellevue vs. Renton: Sonics say both still in running for new arena
By Jim Brunner and Ashley Bach
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003498384_sonics28m.html
Seattle Times staff reporters

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2006/12/27/2003498117.gif

Sonics owners have narrowed their search for a possible new arena site to a stretch of Bellevue's Auto Row and a piece of vacant Boeing land at the southern tip of Lake Washington in Renton, team and city officials say.

A Sonics spokesman denied as "rampant speculation" a Wednesday report in the News Tribune of Tacoma that the team had all but settled on the Renton site.

"A decision has not been made yet," said Jim Kneeland, a public-affairs consultant for the Professional Basketball Club, the Sonics and Storm ownership group led by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett.

Kneeland said owners are still evaluating the Renton and Bellevue locations and plan to announce a choice by early next month.

A third King County location, which has not been publicly revealed, also remains in the running, but only as a "remote" possibility — a fallback for other sites, Kneeland said. The team and its consultants have scoured dozens of possible arena sites in King County since political hostility in Seattle doomed proposals for a taxpayer-funded KeyArena expansion.

Any arena proposal is expected to include a request to the Legislature for a large taxpayer contribution. A new arena has been estimated to cost roughly $400 million.

Kneeland said Sonics owners have discussed contributing $100 million to the arena project but said that number could change.

"It could be $75 million, it could be $125 million, depending on what it will take to get the project done," he said.

That would be much higher than the $18 million offered by the previous ownership group, led by Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz, toward a $200 million KeyArena expansion.

The Bellevue-versus-Renton question pits a bustling mall-laden city against a historically blue-collar town that has big dreams for the future.


Renton


Renton has aggressively courted the Sonics even as its chances have at times been mocked.

The 21-acre Boeing site, just southwest of Park Avenue North and North Eighth Street, is part of a larger swath of about 300 acres which the company has gradually been selling off near its 737 plant. Another nearby chunk of Boeing land was sold to make way for The Landing, a 68-acre housing, retail and office development.

Kneeland said Sonics' representatives have met with "senior Boeing people" to discuss the Renton site, which has the advantage of being close to Interstate 405.

Renton Mayor Kathy Keolker said she did not know whether the Sonics were leaning toward her city. But she said an arena could fit in well with Renton's economic-development goals.

"It would be an amenity for the community and it would provide a lot of jobs," Keolker said. But she added the city has made "no commitments" to the team.

Although Renton does not own the possible arena site, the city's economic-development director, Alex Pietsch, said one scenario that has been discussed would include the city purchasing the land and then selling or leasing it to a public-stadium authority, which likely would own any new Sonics arena.


Bellevue


That would be more aid than Bellevue is likely to offer. Bellevue city leaders have said city money would not be forthcoming for a Sonics arena.

The Bellevue site also could prove difficult because it is smaller, more expensive and controlled by multiple owners.

The 14-acre site lies on the city's Auto Row, on the west side of 116th Avenue Northeast between Northeast Fourth and Eighth streets.

Its three major properties are the Coast Bellevue Hotel, the Lincoln Center Office Park and a Ford dealership, but it also includes a car-rental agency, a Denny's restaurant and a vacant lot — six property owners in all.

City and business leaders say the Bellevue site would offer the Sonics and Storm a prime perch next to three freeways — I-405, Interstate 90 and Highway 520 — and a bustling downtown full of hotels, restaurants and other amenities that Renton lacks.

"To be successful, you've got to be going seven days a week," said Bellevue developer Kemper Freeman, who has been working with Bennett on possible arena plans. Freeman said he believes the Bellevue site is still in the running.

However, the team apparently has not entered into serious discussions with the Auto Row property owners.

Seattle's Benaroya Companies, which is selling the 4-acre Lincoln Center Office Park, said it has not heard from the team or its representatives, except for a heads-up call saying the office park was on the team's radar.

Larry Benaroya, the company's principal, said he doesn't expect to hear from the Sonics unless the team secures arena funding from the Legislature.

"They need to get their ducks in a row," Benaroya said.

[MrVandelay]

Get in line, Sonics: Legislature getting plenty of arena requests
By Jim Brunner
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003498348_arenafrenzy28m.html
Seattle Times staff reporter

The wish list
* $179 million: For NASCAR track in Kitsap County
* $10 million: Toward a $50 million hockey arena in Kent
* Up to $53 million: Toward an $80 million rodeo arena in Centralia
* $18 million: For renovations to state's five minor-league ballparks
* Unknown: What Sonics will seek for a new arena

Sonics owner Clay Bennett will find plenty of company when he heads to Olympia next month to ask the Legislature for help building a new basketball arena.

Across the state, sports promoters and cities are angling for taxpayer money to construct new arenas or patch up old ballparks.

A Florida racetrack developer wants $166 million in state sales taxes for a NASCAR track in Kitsap County. Kent wants the state to pitch in at least $10 million toward a $50 million arena to lure the Seattle Thunderbirds hockey team. In Centralia, boosters hope taxpayers will cover two-thirds of an $80 million rodeo arena. The state's five minor-league baseball parks want $18 million in renovations, including $1.3 million for a new grandstand roof at Tacoma's Cheney Stadium.

The wish list tops $240 million — not including whatever the Sonics ask for.

"Wow. Form a line to the right," said House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam.

Although lawmakers anticipate a budget surplus, Kessler said building new sports arenas isn't a top priority, especially for profitable businesses like the NBA and NASCAR.

"The public is getting worn out, especially by large franchises asking the taxpayers to pick up so much," Kessler said. "I think the proposals we'll look at more seriously are those where the team makes a more substantial investment and doesn't make the state taxpayers pony up all the money."

The smaller proposals may stand a better chance.

Gov. Christine Gregoire released a proposed construction budget last week that includes $3 million for the proposed Kent arena and $6 million for the minor-league parks.

The larger requests were not mentioned in the governor's budget and could prove more controversial, since they would require new legislation to extend or redirect taxes.


Sonics and NASCAR


The biggest proposals are expected to come from Sonics owners and NASCAR promoters, whose previous bids for state aid flopped.

The Sonics' proposal is the biggest mystery at the moment. Bennett is planning a large suburban arena suitable for professional basketball, concerts and major-league hockey. He has said that arena will require a significant public contribution, but has not released details.

A glut of new arenas could create problems for existing ones. A Seattle task-force report last year warned that KeyArena could become a financial drag on Seattle Center if it faces competition from a new state-subsidized Sonics arena in the suburbs. And Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said he'll ask that Seattle be compensated by the state if that happens.

The other big-ticket proposal is for a new NASCAR racetrack in Kitsap County.

Despite finding little support for the idea last year, NASCAR promoters plan to return to Olympia next month with essentially the same proposal for a $345 million, 80,000-seat track.

Track developers want to divert $166 million in state sales tax to pay for construction, matched by $166 million in private money. Another $13 million would come from a ticket tax at the track, which would be owned by a public-development authority, much like Qwest and Safeco fields.

Grant Lynch, vice president of Florida-based racetrack developer International Speedway Corp., said he has met with more than 50 state legislators since the summer trying to convince them of the project's merits.

"If you take the time out of session to sit down with legislators and you can get a couple quality hours of their time, they begin to understand what sets this project apart," Lynch said.

Backers are selling the NASCAR track as a potentially huge tourism draw, capable of bringing hundreds of thousands of free-spending tourists to the state and boosting tax collections.

But those financial projections have been criticized by State Treasurer Mike Murphy as unrealistic.

Critics point out taxpayers would be left holding much of the construction bill if NASCAR failed to meet attendance expectations and generate the extra tax revenue claimed by promoters.

"It's you and I that will be paying it if the track does not make it," said Ray McGovern, an organizer of the Coalition for Healthy Economic Choices in Kitsap, a group opposing the NASCAR proposal.


Rodeo arena

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2006/12/26/2003495933.jpg
In Lewis County, backers of a proposed indoor rodeo arena say it would help the Centralia area recover from the 550 jobs lost when the state's last coal mine closed last month.

Planning for the proposed Regional Equestrian Center, or "REQ Center," started before the mine closure, but backers hope the economic-recovery argument will prove compelling for state lawmakers.

The domed arena would cost between $50 million and $80 million, according to early estimates. Sketches call for 7,500 permanent seats, a concrete floor with removable dirt for rodeo events, 20 ! luxury boxes and an attached exhibition hall. While designed largely for rodeos and livestock shows, the arena could also hold concerts, dirt-bike races and other events.

Centralia businessman Larry Hewitt, who is leading the REQ Center effort, said backers may be able to build the project with private money, but they're seeking possible taxpayer assistance as an option. "It's a relatively small amount of money, all things considered," Hewitt said.

Rep. Gary Alexander, the ranking Republican on the House budget committee, whose district includes Centralia, said he plans to introduce legislation that would allow Lewis County to create a public-facilities district to fund the arena.

Similar to the NASCAR proposal, that would allow some sales taxes to be diverted to the rodeo arena project instead of being deposited in the state general fund.


Hockey in Kent

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2006/12/27/2003440379.jpg
In Kent, city officials are moving rapidly on a plan to build a 6,500-seat arena to lure the Seattle Thunderbirds hockey team from KeyArena.

Like the Sonics, the Thunderbirds want out of KeyArena, complaining it is inadequate. The team's lease expires in 2008, and Kent leaders hope their new arena can be completed by then. The arena would be constructed across from the Kent Commons, on what are now large school playfields.

City officials say they need at least $10 million in state aid for the $50 million project. Gregoire included $3 million in her recent budget proposal. If Kent can get enough state aid, the city plans to sell bonds to pay for construction, to be paid back primarily from rent and concession agreements.

"I'm feeling very confident we've got a winner here," said Ben Wolters, Kent's economic development director.

The arena's anchor tenant would be the Thunderbirds, the junior-league hockey team with 40 home games a year. But it also could host ice shows, concerts and monster-truck rallies, Wolters said.


Minor-league baseball


By comparison, the requests from the state's five minor-league ballparks are small. The teams, which all play in publicly owned ballparks, got together last year to ask for a total of $25 million. The Legislature agreed to give them $7 million. The teams are lobbying to get the remaining $18 million.

That would pay for a new grandstand roof at Tacoma's Cheney Stadium, a new concessions building and risers at Spokane's Avista Stadium, and locker-room upgrades and left-field seats for Everett Memorial Stadium. Dust Devils Stadium in the Tri-Cities would get a new scoreboard and Yakima County Stadium would get a grandstand roof to shield fans from the sun.

Randy Lewis, Tacoma's lobbyist, said one argument for the minor-league ballparks is their fan-friendly price tag.

A family of four can catch a Tacoma Rainiers game at Cheney Stadium for $20. "That is still going to be the case," Lewis said.