Friday, December 23, 2011

Seattle Times: Wealthy ex-Seattle man behind NBA arena proposal

The story from KING 5's Chris Daniels was light on details and heavy on innuendo. I had thought at the time that if there was a story that could be told via land acquisitions in Seattle that the Seattle Times would have the reach to put it together. In fact, I now regularly look at the Seattle Times business section to see if there are any more land transactions that could have something to do with locating an arena.

The Seattle Times is on the story. Between them and KING 5 I expect that if there is a story to be told that they will find it and tell it.

A wealthy San Francisco hedge-fund manager is the lead investor seeking to build a sports arena south of Safeco Field to lure an NBA basketball team back to Seattle, according to two sources briefed on the effort.

Christopher Hansen, 43, who has roots in Seattle and now heads Valiant Capital Management LLC, in San Francisco, is working with an investor group whose proposal has yet to be publicly unveiled.
. . .
McGinn, an avid basketball fan, has been working with the Sodo investor group for several months to explore how the city can assist, including help with financing, according to sources. As part of the effort, McGinn hired an arena consultant, sources said.
. . .
The group behind the Sodo effort is separate from a recently publicized campaign being led by longtime Sonics fan Brian Robinson and his organization, Arena Solution, to secure a new arena and an NBA team.

Among those involved in the Sodo plan is Wally Walker, the former Seattle Sonics player and team executive, sources said. Walker was a minority owner of the Sonics, serving as the team's president and general manager from 1994 until the team was sold to Clay Bennett in 2006.
. . .

Seattle Times: Local News | Wealthy ex-Seattle man behind NBA arena proposal

I think the media is missing the point of ArenaSolution.org. That effort is to support an arena solution, not any one particular solution.