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Tribe offers land to Sonics: Muckleshoots' Auburn parcel could house NBA team, study says(News Tribune, The (Tacoma, WA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Sep. 18--The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe took a major step toward attempting to build a new events center that could potentially house the Seattle SuperSonics on land it owns in South King County. The Muckleshoots released a market feasibility study Monday morning. It concludes that a 26.5-acre parcel of land the tribe owns next to Emerald Downs could support an 18,500-seat arena, with the Sonics as the primary tenant. Muckleshoot tribal spokesman Rollin Fatland said the tribe is willing to gift the land for the project, contribute parking from Emerald Downs and also help pay for a financial analysis that would focus on how to pay for the project. According to King County property sales records, the Muckleshoots bought the three parcels of land that make up the 26.5 acres in October 2005 for a total of $3.9 million. According to consultant Jason Thompson, a senior associate of Washington, D.C., firm Brailsford & Dunlavey, a preliminary project budget has an arena, parking garage and other land improvements costing $452 million if construction began in 2009. Brailsford & Dunleavy is a national firm that specializes in facility planning Fatland said tribal leaders met Friday to discuss the study. Copies of the phone-book thick report were sent to Gov. Chris Gregoire and Sonics chairman Clay Bennett on Friday, as well. The tribe also sent a letter to Gregoire stating its support for moving forward on the project. Gregoire recently brought together a group of local businessmen -- Microsoft senior vice president Brad Smith, developer Dave Sabey and Boeing executive Bob Watt -- to take a closer look at the arena issue. Holly Armstrong, a spokesperson for Gregoire, said the governor has not had a chance to review the Muckleshoot document and had no comment. Dan Mahoney, a spokesman for Bennett and the Sonics' ownership group, said the group declined to comment. The tribe already has spent about $100,000 on the market feasibility study, Fatland said. The cost estimate and many other details involving the project were revealed during an hour-long briefing at Emerald Downs by Thompson, the consultant. Thompson also listed a couple of other factors that his company believes confirms the site could successfully house an NBA team. A market-accessibility study and drive-time analysis show no real difference between the proposed location in Auburn and the Sonics' current location at KeyArena. Auburn is predicted to show positive growth in the targeted population for an NBA team, while the area around KeyArena is predicted to lose population from that targeted population growth area. Seattle has the potential to be a lucrative NBA market because of its relatively small household size compared with other NBA markets, which leaves more disposable income for households to spend on entertainment opportunities. "With all the talk of (the Sonics) relocation (to another city) I think it's important to understand that this market is a great NBA market," Thompson said. "Any talk of relocation is related to the facilities. It has nothing to do with the market." Fatland said the tribe wants to be part of the process to help keep a community asset like the Sonics from relocating to Oklahoma City. "What the tribe is trying to do here is something constructive that can move this into a rational, fact-based dialogue about what can or can't be done regarding the new arena," Fatland said. "We want to get away from the gnashing of teeth and lawyering up." Thompson also pointed out some factors that worked against locating the Sonics in Auburn. A survey of companies in the region revealed that Auburn is not the preferred site, although a majority of companies would support the project if it remains the only solution. Finding alternative forms of transportation to the site, and accessibility to the site from Highway 167 also could be an issue. There also are concerns about the lack of amenities near the proposed site, although a 30-acre parcel of land next to the potential arena could be developed into an area that would feature restaurants and other entertainment options. Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437 [email protected] To see more of The News Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.TheNewsTribune.com. Copyright (c) 2007, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |