SEATTLE—A new lawsuit has been filed against the planned professional basketball and hockey arena in Seattle's Sodo neighborhood, says the Seattle Times.
The suit, alleges the funding arrangement--calling for $200 million in public money to be repaid through arena revenue--violates the terms of Initiative 91. The measure, approved by Seattle voters in 2006, requires that the city make a profit on any investment in a sports facility.
The plan, the lawsuit says, “lacks fair value” because most of the sums to be repaid represent unsecured future cash revenue or interest repayment that is not allowed under the initiative.
“We think there is a massive shortfall in fair value because you can't count the unsecured future cash,” Seattle attorney Cleveland Stockmeyer, told the paper after filing the suit last week.
It's the second suit against the $490 million arena that San Francisco hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen and others are proposing. Hansen and his group hope to bring the NBA back to Seattle.
Last fall, a local group of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union filed a suit against the city of Seattle, King County and Hansen's WSA Properties III Limited Liability Co., arguing that the plaintiffs signed an arena deal before conducting any review as required by the state Environmental Policy Act.
Click Seattle Times to read the full story.
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David Phillips
David Phillips is a Chicago-based freelance writer and consultant with more than 20 years experience in business and community news. He also has extensive reporting experience in the food manufacturing industry for national trade publications.
