The AEG-led Seattle Partners group looking to renovate KeyArena yesterday "withdrew" its $521M proposal, a "surprising move" in the ongoing effort to bring the NHL or NBA back to the city, according to a front-page piece by Geoff Baker of the SEATTLE TIMES. The SP group is also backed by Hudson Pacific Properties, and the move comes on the "eve of an expected announcement this week" that rival bidder Oak View Group and its $564M proposal "will be selected" by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray for the project. Any recommendation by Murray will be "forwarded to the Seattle City Council, which would choose between renovating KeyArena or having entrepreneur Chris Hansen build a new arena in the city's Sodo District." Sources said that city staffers exploring the offers had "reservations about the financing and design" of the SP project. SP in a letter to Murray and the council yesterday said that it "never got a fair shake from the city." AEG Facilities President Bob Newman's letter "also questioned the city's decision to redact portions of OVG's financial plan when proposals were made public." OVG CEO Tim Leiweke and OVG Dir of Special Projects Lance Lopes had said that they wanted the city to "release all of its financial details from the start." The SP proposal was "controversial from the start," given it involved $250M in public-bond funding. SP said that the bonds were "fully guaranteed and the city could make a surplus" of up to $144M off the funding mechanism, but city staffers and consultants "apparently had reservations." The SP letter stated that "the City declined to seek improved terms, refusing requests from us and others to call for a 'best and final' offer from both bidders." SP has "long been questioning the OVG financing of its project" (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/5).
MOVING TOO FAST? The AP's Tim Booth noted despite "not being considered the favorite, it was a surprising decision" by SP to withdraw. The city had "originally said it would choose a proposal by June 30 on which group to enter into negotiations with on the KeyArena remodel" (AP, 6/4). In Seattle, Stephen Cohen noted OVG last week "announced a major change to its design, removing an 850-stall parking garage that would have been funded with public money along the arena's south side." The withdrawal of an industry leader is "inarguably a bad look for the KeyArena process, which critics accuse of being unnecessarily fast-tracked" (SEATTLEPI.com, 6/4).
THE WAITING GAME: The SEATTLE TIMES' Baker writes Seattle has "heard for a while now" that they are "five to 10 years from getting an NBA team back." Baker: "In addition, I'm told the NBA fully expects us to get the NHL here first and will closely monitor the situation before announcing any expansion process that could bring basketball back to town" (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/5).
