"I'm a big fan of Seattle," said Chris Hansen, the man who's offering to build a SODO arena for the Seattle Supersonics. He was speaking to a crowd of about a thousand fans whom he'd invited to share a brewski at an impromptu beer garden outside F.X. McRory's.
The City Council had just voted, unanimously, to accept Hansen's revised proposal, and Mayor Mike McGinn stopped by to offer congratulations. "We've still got a long way to go," Hansen added, referring to environmental and permitting reviews. But the mood was decidedly cheerful.
While much of the public is sold and excited about the prospective new stadium deal, some are still wary of the revisions and largely unconvinced that the addendum will adequately address their initial concerns. The Port of Seattle has been the most vocal, getting downright feisty as Publicola quotes Mike Merritt, the Port's government affairs manager as telling the city council that
As far as the Port's [financial] involvement goes, we'd like to remind the council that over the past several years the Port has contributed more than $40 million to transportation projects throughout the region [and has committed to spend another $300 million on the Alaskan Way tunnel project]. Please understand that at this point the Port does not have any uncommitted dollars for transportation projects. Let the passive aggressive sass-fest commence.
· "The Port Does Not Have Any Uncommitted Dollars for Transportation" [Publicola]