There will be no new vote "taken on a proposed Sodo District arena until after the City of Seattle has decided whether KeyArena can be renovated for NBA and NHL use," according to Geoff Baker of the SEATTLE TIMES. A memo sent Thursday by legislative analyst Lish Whitson to city council members said that a city review of an "all-private arena proposal from entrepreneur Chris Hansen will take 'five to six months' to complete." No council vote "can be scheduled until after that point, which extends beyond the city’s late-June timeline for making a KeyArena decision." That process includes a "review by the city’s transportation department and design commission." After that, scheduling a council vote before next fall seems "highly unlikely given the onset of the summer break period." Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has said that he "expects a decision on KeyArena renovation proposals by late June, which could render any future Sodo vote moot." Murray has said that the city will have "only one major arena -- at KeyArena or in Sodo." KeyArena renovation proposals "must be submitted by April 12." Murray in a statement on Wednesday said that he was "moving ahead with the KeyArena process regardless of the new Sodo proposal." AEG and Tim Leiweke's Oak View Group are "planning to submit proposals by the deadline." Both companies were the "only ones with representatives attending a city-sponsored KeyArena tour two weeks ago." An official attendees list "provided by the city also showed no members" of the Coyotes "participated in that tour" (SEATTLE TIMES, 2/10).
