Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Thursday said that it is "time for backers of a Sodo District arena to open their wallets if they want the venue built," according to Geoff Baker of the SEATTLE TIMES. While "hailing Thursday’s release of a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as 'another major milestone' reached, Murray said he’s prepared to look elsewhere if entrepreneur Chris Hansen and his hockey partner can’t produce an 'NHL first' funding proposal by fall." Murray said that he "needs a 'much, much better' public funding package to present to the Seattle City Council than the current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Hansen, the city and King County." That deal "calls for" up to $200M in bonds toward a $490M arena "if an NBA team is acquired." But Murray believes that there is "no chance of that now, meaning a new proposal with more private money for a riskier 'NHL-first' scenario is needed." Baker notes September is "projected as the earliest date for a council vote on closing part of Occidental Avenue South to accommodate the arena," meaning Murray "likely needs something from Hansen by late summer." Hansen and partners Peter Nordstrom, Erik Nordstrom and Wally Walker on Thursday issued a statement welcoming the EIS release and saying they "remain 100% supportive of the NHL returning to Seattle and playing in the Arena -- and are completely open to the prospect of that occurring prior to the NBA." But Hansen's group has "yet to present an NHL funding plan." The EIS found "no significant obstacles toward building either a 20,000-or 18,000-seat arena in Sodo" by '18. But Murray said that "addressing the funding issue and traffic concerns" of the Mariners and Port of Seattle "loom large" (SEATTLE TIMES, 5/8). The AP's Tim Booth wrote the "hopes of bringing the NBA back to Seattle and adding an NHL team passed a significant milestone Thursday," as the EIS "found no major issues to block a projected new multipurpose arena in Seattle's stadium district." But the "toughest challenge might still be ahead" for Hansen and his partners: "Rewriting the original language on the arena proposal for hockey to become the first tenant of a new building" (AP, 5/7).
