Arena Design and Contracts Expected

BELLEVUE, WA-It’s going to be a big January for Michael Tuckman of Bellevue Crown Center Development LLC. Tuckman, the former president and GM of KONG-TV, has promised to unveil a design this month for the sports arena and performing arts center he has envisioned for the 3-acre block on Northeast 6th St. between 110th and 112th Avenues Northeast, across from Mendenbauer Center, as well as contracts for concerts dates and deals with sports teams.

But wary Bellevue officials, while lured by the concept, see little progress in the realm of acquiring the land or financing the construction. Tuckman may have hit booming Bellevue at just the right time with just the right vision.

Tuckman’s vision includes a 6,500-seat sports arena to house minor league teams in basketball, hockey, indoor tennis, arena football and soccer, with an adjacent 2,000-seat theater for the performing arts. He says he has a 3-year option for a Continental Basketball Association team and a done deal for a hockey team, and he hints that the announcement of a team in a third sport will be forthcoming soon.