Metropolitan King County Council Briefing: Arena Review Panel Report, Monday, 4/16/2012, 9:30 am

This is a Briefing to the Committee of the Whole, not a Hearing, or Executive Session. This is how and where proposals are introduced to the council. Somebody would sponsor a bill and refer the bill to a committee that addresses the topic. In that sub-committee the work will be done in collecting data, information, testimony (that is staff, expert, and public testimony) etc, and then the bill could be voted on in Executive Decision to recommend back to the Committee of the Whole for them to move forward (or not), referencing their reasons based on the facts gathered in their committee.
That is how our legislative bodies work. If you have kids, this is a very public example of civics in action.

Briefing
4. Briefing No. 2012-B0064 Arena Review Panel Report
Jan Drago, Former City and County Councilwoman – Panel Co-Chair
Lenny Wilkens, Former NBA player and Coach – Panel Co-Chair
Maud Daudon, President & CEO, Seattle Northwest Securities, and Interim President & CEO,
Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce – Financial Adviser to the Panel

We will be able to watch it live using the link, on the right hand side of the page, on King County television (that's right, government access television, welcome to the dark side of the political sports nerds universe).
On this page you see on the right a graphic link to council agendas! Watch it live. That takes you to committee information, including archived video of the council meeting if you can't watch it live.

When this gets turned into a bill and referred to a committee you can get to the council materials, video, agendas, etc, through the King County web site. City of Seattle is the same way.

Hansen, a Seattle native who has preached patience throughout the process, declined to comment specifically on the Kings situation.

"However, these developments are a reminder that franchise opportunities may arise quickly and in an unpredictable fashion," he said in a statement. "And so we should continue with our joint efforts to find an 'Arena Solution' that best works for our City, County and the various constituents of our community and in as timely a fashion as is feasible to ensure we are in a position to take advantage of an inevitable opportunity when it arises."

The collapse of the deal left both Sacramento and the Maloofs scrambling.
. . .
Seattle officials, meanwhile, said their focus remains getting an arena deal done that could lure a team. The Metropolitan King County Council is scheduled to be briefed Monday morning from Lenny Wilkens and Jan Drago, co-chairs of the Arena Advisory Panel that was asked by Mayor Mike McGinn to gather information and make a recommendation. It will be the first time the full council takes up the issue.

County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer said the news out of Sacramento gives local decision-makers reasons to go slow and remain careful rather than rush a proposed deal.

"Sacramento is a cautionary light rather than a green light," von Reichbauer said. "Sacramento is an opportunity. It's also a reminder of how important due diligence is, because the owners had an agreement with the NBA and backed out. It shows the importance of a clearly understood legal agreement."

McGinn and King County Executive Dow Constantine are expected to send legislation to the city and county councils this month, requesting approval of a memorandum of understanding between the city, county and Hansen's ArenaCo group. Hansen has requested that the councils approve legislation by early June.

Hansen has said he has several local investors interested in joining him to bring an NBA franchise to Seattle and help build a $490 million, 18,000-seat arena for pro basketball and hockey. Hansen wants taxpayers to pitch in $200 million in construction bonds, which he says would be repaid by revenue from the arena.

Hansen is paying for a study on the traffic impact of a new arena in Sodo. That study is expected to be completed next month.

Von Reichbauer said "the devil is in the details," such as the traffic study, but he credited Hansen with quickly paying for it.

"My primary take-away from Sacramento is how important it is to build a relationship between Mr. Hansen, the city and the county on a solid foundation so everyone knows what they're getting into," said von Reichbauer.

Seattle Times, Sacramento Kings' future unclear as arena deal there falls through.

I will be following this, but I will not post everything at SonicsCentral.com that happens. It's a different kind of sport, not basketball, I will be following this here.