CITY OF SEATTLEORDINANCE __________________COUNCIL BILL __________________titleAN ORDINANCE relating to the Seattle Center Department; authorizing the Seattle Center Director to execute a facility use agreement with Force 10 Hoops, LLC, for use and occupancy of KeyArena and adjacent areas at the Seattle Center; making findings of fact about the value provided by professional women's basketball in Seattle; exempting the agreement from the requirements of Chapter 20.47 of the Seattle Municipal Code; and superseding an earlier agreement authorized by Ordinance 122907.bodyWHEREAS, in 1999 the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) selected Seattle as the location for one of four expansion teams to begin play in the 2000 season; andWHEREAS, KeyArena has been the home court of the WNBA team Seattle Storm ("Storm") since its inaugural season in 2000; andWHEREAS, the Storm contributes to civic pride and community spirit; andWHEREAS, in February 2008, Force 10 Hoops, LLC ("F10H"), a locally owned company, purchased the Women's Basketball Club of Seattle (WBCOS) and the Storm from the owners of the Seattle Supersonics; andWHEREAS, in February 2008, with the Mayor's concurrence, the Seattle City Council unanimously adopted Resolution 31039 requesting that the Seattle Center work collaboratively with the new local owners of the Storm to negotiate a long-term lease that would enable the Storm to remain viable playing at KeyArena, while requiring the Storm to provide certain public benefits to the City, the taxpayers, and the residents of Seattle; andWHEREAS, in February 2009, as authorized by Ordinance 122907, the Seattle Center Director and WBCOS executed a ten-year agreement for use and occupancy of KeyArena for the playing of Storm home games and the provision of certain public benefits to the City and the public; andWHEREAS, the City and F10H mutually desire for KeyArena to continue to be the home court of the Storm in the event KeyArena is redevel...