Seattle doesn't even have an NHL team yet but there's already there's talk of a work stoppage. It's like getting all the bad stuff while also not winning anything (kinda like the Edmonton Oilers).
Last week, Chris Hansen, private equity investor and champion of Seattle basketball fans, said "now the work can begin" on his basketball & hockey arena in SoDo. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union responded by saying that they would prefer that work to never begin, filing suit against Seattle and King County on Thursday in an attempt to invalidate the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that both councils signed into agreement with Hansen.
Folks associated with the Port of Seattle have been opponents of the arena deal since the beginning, claiming that the proposed arena will hurt their business and congest local roads.
Part of the MOU calls for a $40M transportation study and implementation of improvements to the area to offset congestion concerns. The arena is now awaiting a state environmental review.
· Longshore union files suit against Sodo arena plan [PBBJ]
· Chris Hansen: 'Now the Work Begins' on Basketball and Hockey Arena [~CSEA~]
· NHL lockout 2012: Games canceled through Nov. 1, but that's not really a bad thing [SB Nation]
—Sean Keeley