If Seattle loses its chance for an NBA basketball team, arena financier Chris Hansen will quickly go from hero to goat.
Hansen was called out-of-bounds on Friday, Aug. 16, after being revealed as the anonymous $100,000 sponsor of a group gathering signatures for an anti-arena initiative in Sacramento. He now faces possible sanctions for nondisclosure under California law.
But this has always been Hansen’s strategy. He worked secretly with Mayor Mike McGinn to secure a memorandum of agreement with the city for months. Then he overpaid by millions for blocks south of Safeco Field and has moved forward with the design of the new arena, expecting it to locate there — despite not having gone through the formal SEPA process (the draft Environmental Impact Statement was released just last week).
And before the NBA relocation committee could vote on the Sacramento Kings’ relocation, Hansen tried to force his hand by putting an additional $25 million into the bid. Then he added $75 million more before a vote to sell the team.
Hansen’s game plan is to play heavy-handed and then rationalize it later. Let’s hope that if Seattle ever lands an NBA team — despite his continued efforts to sabotage it — he’ll be hands-off when it comes to what happens on the court.
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