One of the issues that pushed us over the top in deciding to endorse the proposed Sodo arena was the concern that if we reject this deal, an arena would eventually be built in Bellevue instead, turning KeyArena into a costly white elephant while drawing concert and sporting event dollars into Bellevue instead of Seattle. It's a concern that, according to an article in the Seattle Times, is well founded: "Chicago investor has talked with Bellevue officials about an NHL arena."
Don Levin calls the Seattle region "probably the best market in the United States that does not have a hockey team," and says he has $100 million to invest in a new Bellevue arena.
"I think the city (Bellevue) has a good base of restaurants and hotels, so the teams could stay there and the fans could stay there. You'd be bringing in a lot of people to spend a lot of money."
Levin believes that with or without him, the region is eventually going to get a new arena. "It's going to happen, says Levin. "It's just when whichever city decides they want to pull the trigger."
A couple of observations on this story. First, it confirms what we already knew—that Bellevue is still actively working to draw an arena. Second, Levin's $100 million private commitment is far lower than the $300 million Hansen has promised to put up. It is highly unlikely that any future proposal, be it in Seattle or Bellevue, would provide taxpayers as favorable terms as those Hansen has put on the table. And as residents of King County, it is likely that Seattle taxpayers will be asked to pick up much of the tab regardless of the location.
Given that no investor has stepped forward to invest in rebuilding KeyArena, and that there is absolutely no will (or reason) for taxpayers to invest in rebuilding it themselves, we remain convinced that the choice before the Seattle City Council is not whether or not to build a new arena, but whether or not to build a new arena here in Seattle or across the lake and Bellevue.
We'd prefer to keep this amenity and the revenue it generates here in our city.
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