Conlin, who studied history as an undergraduate, sounds like a history major still when he argues that, “Only since World War II has it become customary for local governments to be primary funders–and the current trend may be away from public finance.” That “only” refers to about 70 years. Continue reading City Council’s Two “No” Votes on Arena Justify Their Lack of Love
God bless Chris Hansen. After proposing one of the most generous arena investment deals in the history of American professional sports, he absorbed insults from anti-everything idiots, endured a misinformation campaign by the city’s newspaper, survived a blindside hit by the myopic Seattle Mariners and finally swallowed his privacy just so City Council members don’t have to explain capitalism to old ladies. Continue reading City Council Covers Ass, Fans Get Free Beer in Seattle Arena Win-Win
Art Thiel at Sportspress Northwest, which has become the go-to source for arena news, tackles the I-91 implications here. Oddly, back in 2008, when a “Save the Sonics” proposal that called for $150 million in public and $150 million in private funds was floated, Van Dyk said “he thinks the latest proposal could be a good deal for taxpayers,” according to the Times. Continue reading Op-Ed: Seattle Arena Proposal Beset by Paid Nabobs of Negativism
I’ve seen some strange arguments put in play myself. There are the people who wonder whether Seattle–the city that supported the Sonics from 1967 to 2008–can now afford to support “another” team, as if the previous 40 years didn’t exist. That’s a bit of a head-scratcher. There’s the concern about congestion in the stadium district–my god, congestion! Continue reading Top 5 Reasons Why the New “Sonics” Stadium is Safe for Seattle
But, faced with years of tunnel-construction and Viaduct-destruction, the Port and Mariners have decided a new stadium is a bridge too far. Why? Fears of traffic congestion. Here is a delightful section of the Port’s letter to all and sundry in which they discover that they never got their promised east-west connectors, that tolls divert traffic, and that they forgot to demand meaningful construction mitigation. Continue reading New Stadium Notion Leaves Port, the Ms Feeling Congested Even Before Tunnel Toll
