Hedge fund manager Chris Hansen said that he has “no intention of replicating L.A. Live in Seattle’s Sodo neighborhood” with his proposed NBA-ready arena, according to Sharon Pian Chan of the SEATTLE TIMES. Hansen said, “We plan to do something on a much smaller scale on only the block north of the arena site. We only own three properties there and we plan to do something that is much different from L.A. Live. We want to have a gathering spot for our fans and other fans from the stadium district but it would be something more in line with Seattle.” He added, “L.A. Live is meant for L.A. It fits their market. Kansas City Light and Power is much more the look and feel (of what we want to do). It has a covered atrium, is used for a gathering spot, has more local merchants, it’s brick, fits the city.” Hansen noted his attempt to build the arena and buy the NBA Kings is "well in excess of a $1 billion project." Hansen: "These three little real estate parcels we own cost about $15 million. Trying to get a reasonable return on whatever the return on whatever we do is not going to put a dent in the return on investment for buying the team. We are putting this out there because we think it’s a great fan experience for our fans.” Hansen noted renovating KeyArena, where the Sonics played before they moved to Oklahoma City in '08, is not an option, saying, "We cannot tear down KeyArena and play in it at the same time." Hansen: "Our deal with the city cannot work unless we have an NBA arena to play in because neither the city nor us is going to build an arena on spec” (SEATTLETIMES.com, 5/9).
