Seattle officials are moving ahead with their discussions of a Key Arena renovation, but not without some concerns from area residents.
Seattle mayor Ed Murray has expressed an interest in renovating Key Arena, which would be overhauled to potentially host both NBA and NHL franchises. A study on the viability of renovations has already been completed by AECOM, and two major firms–AEG and the Oak View Group–are showing an interest in the project.
At a meeting on Thursday, Seattle officials met with the Uptown Alliance to discuss how Key Arena could be modernized. While the details are still very preliminary at this point, some of the talks focused on how Key Arena and Seattle Center could be improved to accommodate additional development and more modern amenities.
Early indications, however, are that some of the neighborhood’s residents are leery of the proposal. More from King 5:
Matt Roewe, who said he lived in the neighborhood, argued that there had been “50 new development projects in Uptown, on parking lots.”
Roewe said he was concerned, because the parking resource was rapidly diminishing, and that ST3 would do little to help a new complex.
“300 people per train, every five, six minutes. It would take seven hours to get 20,000 people (in and out),” he said, adding, “It’s a pretty major thing.”
Roewe said the neighborhood has learned to “stand on its own” since the Sonics left.
This plan is one of two arena proposals on the table in Seattle. Developer Chris Hansen is also discussing the possibility of a privately-financed arena in Sodo, an offer that comes months after the Seattle City Council rejected an original proposal in that neighborhood due to traffic concerns.
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