So far in his quest to build a new arena and bring the NBA back to Seattle, Chris Hansen has been able to turn Mayor Mike McGinn and King County Executive Dow Constantine into cheerleaders — or so would say the Port of Seattle. Now, Hansen is appealing to the everyday Seattleite to help make it a reality.

Over the past week, Hansen’s investment group has launched a new website, a Facebook page and a Twitter account to publicize the project and connect with fans. Both the Facebook and Twitter accounts were already nearing 3,000 followers by 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Hansen — erm, the group — is encouraging people to read up on the specifics of his arena proposal, and write their city and county councilmembers as the councils take up the official agreement among the city, county and Hansen. The group also is organizing a rally for supporters, set for 4 p.m. June 14 at Occidental Park in downtown Seattle.

The group is called Sonics Arena, which is interesting because Hansen wants to bring both an NBA team and an NHL franchise to the Emerald City. Of course, most people have latched on to the possibility that the Seattle SuperSonics could soon return to their hometown. Hansen needs to nail down an NBA team before shovels hit the ground.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past four months … Hansen has proposed a public-private partnership to build a multipurpose arena in Seattle’s Sodo neighborhood, south of the Safeco Field parking garage. He has asked the city and county to contribute a collective $200 million in public loans, to be paid off by taxes on the arena itself so that no one who doesn’t use the arena pays. Hansen’s investment group is willing to put up $800 million to help fund construction and to acquire NBA and NHL franchises.

After an appointed Arena Review Panel recommended moving forward with the proposal, McGinn, Constantine and Hansen signed off on a funding agreement that is now before the city and county councils. While the Port of Seattle, the Seattle Mariners and other Sodo businesses have raised concerns about extra traffic in the neighborhood, an independent transportation study (paid for by Hansen and overseen by the Seattle Department of Transportation) found that a new arena would not interfere with shipping operations.

The city and county councils are expected to make their decisions on the arena proposal by mid August.









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Photo: Joshua Trujillo / seattlepi.com Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Image 2 of 12 Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn announces a memorandum of understanding on financing of a new NBA and NHL arena in Seattle along with arena investor Chris Hansen, center, during a press conference on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at King County's Chinook Building. less Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn announces a memorandum of understanding on financing of a new NBA and NHL arena in Seattle along with arena investor Chris Hansen, center, during a press conference on Wednesday, May ... more Photo: Joshua Trujillo / seattlepi.com Image 3 of 12 From left, Joseph Chong, David Brown and Kris "Sonics Guy" Brannon sit in the front row during a press conference announcing a memorandum of understanding on financing of a new NBA and NHL arena in Seattle. The memorandum is between the owners of the new arena and local government. The event was held on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at King County's Chinook Building. less From left, Joseph Chong, David Brown and Kris "Sonics Guy" Brannon sit in the front row during a press conference announcing a memorandum of understanding on financing of a new NBA and NHL arena in Seattle. ... more Photo: Joshua Trujillo / seattlepi.com Image 4 of 12 Arena investor Chris Hansen listens during a press conference announcing a memorandum of understanding on financing of a new NBA and NHL arena in Seattle. The memorandum is between the owners of the new arena and local government. The event was held on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at King County's Chinook Building. less Arena investor Chris Hansen listens during a press conference announcing a memorandum of understanding on financing of a new NBA and NHL arena in Seattle. The memorandum is between the owners of the new arena ... more Photo: Joshua Trujillo / seattlepi.com Image 5 of 12 Image 6 of 12 Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn speaks with other local leaders during a press conference announcing a memorandum of understanding on financing of a new NBA and NHL arena in Seattle. The memorandum is between the owners of the new arena and local government. The event was held on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at King County's Chinook Building. less Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn speaks with other local leaders during a press conference announcing a memorandum of understanding on financing of a new NBA and NHL arena in Seattle. The memorandum is between the ... more Photo: Joshua Trujillo / seattlepi.com Image 7 of 12 Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn speaks as arena investor Chris Hansen, center, listens to the Mayor during a press conference announcing a memorandum of understanding on financing of a new NBA and NHL arena in Seattle. The memorandum is between the owners of the new arena and local government. The event was held on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at King County's Chinook Building. less Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn speaks as arena investor Chris Hansen, center, listens to the Mayor during a press conference announcing a memorandum of understanding on financing of a new NBA and NHL arena in ... more Photo: Joshua Trujillo / seattlepi.com Image 8 of 12 Arena investor Chris Hansen is flanked by Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, left, and King County Executive Dow Constantine, right, during a press conference announcing a memorandum of understanding on financing of a new NBA and NHL arena in Seattle. The memorandum is between the owners of the new arena and local government. The event was held on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at King County's Chinook Building. less Arena investor Chris Hansen is flanked by Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, left, and King County Executive Dow Constantine, right, during a press conference announcing a memorandum of understanding on financing of a ... more Photo: Joshua Trujillo / seattlepi.com Image 9 of 12 King County Executive Dow Constantine speaks as arena investor Chris Hansen listens during a press conference announcing a memorandum of understanding on financing of a new NBA and NHL arena in Seattle. The memorandum is between the owners of the new arena and local government. The event was held on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at King County's Chinook Building. less King County Executive Dow Constantine speaks as arena investor Chris Hansen listens during a press conference announcing a memorandum of understanding on financing of a new NBA and NHL arena in Seattle. The ... more Photo: Joshua Trujillo / seattlepi.com Image 10 of 12 Image 11 of 12 Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, center, speaks to media as arena investor Chris Hansen, second from left, and King County Executive Dow Constantine, fourth from right, look on Wednesday, May 16, 2012, in downtown Seattle during a news conference on a formal agreement for construction of a new multipurpose sports arena in the Sodo neighborhood. less Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, center, speaks to media as arena investor Chris Hansen, second from left, and King County Executive Dow Constantine, fourth from right, look on Wednesday, May 16, 2012, in downtown ... more Photo: Joshua Trujillo / seattlepi.com Image 12 of 12 Chris Hansen launches web campaign, plans rally for new Seattle arena 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

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