Seattle fans are dreaming of the Kings becoming the Sonics (it’s not likely, smart money has them staying put in Sacramento), but it’s not really about the occupant of an arena just yet…
If you build it, some team will come.
Seattle sports fans want a new home for an NBA (and NHL) team built. And Thursday the plans for a new, state-of-the-art arena in Seattle will be unveiled, reports the Seattle Times.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.
With this announcement we’ll get a sense of where this proposal really stands, how close to reality it is. How much the people of Seattle should get their hopes up.
There likely will need to be shovels in the ground before an NBA team is fully committed. But Seattle is a fantastic spot for a team — big television market, plenty of corporations and people with money who can pay the luxury box/ticket prices, committed fan base — and if they build it, an NBA team will come.