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In a 5-4 decision, the Seattle City Council voted against giving up part of Occidental Avenue South to entrepreneur Chris Hansen for his arena in hopes of bringing an NBA team back to the city.

Though a Memorandum of Understanding between Hansen, the city and King County runs through November 2017, odds of a new deal being struck by then seem remote.

In a statement put out on Hansen’s SonicsArena.com website, he said, “Today’s City Council vote was disappointing but we don’t believe it is the end of the road in our quest to bring the NBA and NHL back to Seattle.”

Mayor Ed Murray put out a statement shortly after the vote saying: “Today’s council vote makes it less likely that the NBA will return to the city of Seattle.”

He said he remains committed to exploring options for bringing the NBA and NHL to the region.

Via Geoff Baker/Seattle Times

This really sucks man... I really miss Seattle. Loved that city and their team

It's interesting how the Sustainability and Transportation Committee worked on the issue for months before voting 4-1 in favor of vacating the street, then the full council came on and ruined all of that work (wasted) in short order. It is also interesting that the voting breakdown was men vs women, in a town that appears to have been going through a long-term gender-culture war. Certain council members clearly are highly risk-averse, which is an attitude that often prevents short-term disasters at the expense of long-term growth.

On Monday, council members, including Sally Bagshaw and Debora Juarez, noted the importance of supporting the Port of Seattle, rather than the unknown future that comes with a third arena. Kshama Sawant said she hated voting jobs vs. jobs, but that she couldn’t get past the threat of undermining working-class, waterfront jobs.

The vote was split along gender lines, with council members Sawant, Juarez, Bagshaw, Lisa Herbold and Lorena Gonzalez voting no; Tim Burgess, Mike O’Brien, Bruce Harrel and Rob Johnson voted yes.

http://mynorthwest.com/282523/seattle-city-council-votes/

Until franchises find another way to pay for their fancy new stadia, or provide more direct lines of financial incentive for the cities from whom they want hundreds of millions of dollars in support, I expect we'll see more small-market cities rejecting these proposals than we have in the past.

anatomicbomb wrote:Until franchises find another way to pay for their fancy new stadia, or provide more direct lines of financial incentive for the cities from whom they want hundreds of millions of dollars in support, I expect we'll see more small-market cities rejecting these proposals than we have in the past.

It's the big market cities that typically reject such proposals (when they're event put forth in big markets) and small market teams often see them and accept them. And Seattle is a big market city

anatomicbomb wrote:Until franchises find another way to pay for their fancy new stadia, or provide more direct lines of financial incentive for the cities from whom they want hundreds of millions of dollars in support, I expect we'll see more small-market cities rejecting these proposals than we have in the past.

In the case of Seattle, it is not about financial incentive or asking the city to contribute, it is about clearing a section of the city for development, a thing that occurs in every city from time to time. Unfortunately this city council lacks the courage to commit to change. Avoidance of change is a recipe for stagnation, which it appears is the future of that city.