The city of Seattle has been planning for months to upgrade KeyArena for the return of NBA basketball.

City Councilmember Tim Burgess said investor Chris Hansen has pledged to spend $12-$15 million on some specific improvements with very little city investment.

"Mr. Hansen has talked about the lower bowl being enhanced, talked about the electronic backbone, if you will, all of the necessary electronics for broadcast purposes has to be redone; there's a lot of work."

Burgess talked to reporters Monday outside KeyArena, the World's Fair-era building which was home to the Seattle SuperSonics between 1967 and 2008, except for a few years when games were played at the Kingdome or Tacoma Dome.

Burgess said the city will not do anything until the Sacramento Kings are formally awarded to the Seattle investors. If that happens, he vows that KeyArena will be ready for the first game this fall.

"We don't have very long, there's a lot of work to do here, but the city's engaged, now, with Mr. Hansen on that and we'll make progress over the next several months," said Burgess.

A lawsuit is challenging the validity of the environmental review of the SoDo site that Hansen prefers for a new arena.

"We built in protections so that the EIS is done properly, we put off any final decision (on siting the arena) until after the EIS is completed and there's really no dispute about the facts there," said Burgess. "All the parties to that lawsuit have agreed to summary judgment and the court will decide whether or not we're following the right process."

If Seattle gets another NBA team, Burgess said it could play as many as three seasons at KeyArena while the new arena is built.

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  cw1997 wrote...

  Why Would I

  January 21, 2013 2:00 pm

  Caret shis fool and his ilk will be the ruination of our country.

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  manabouttown wrote...

  not really interested

  January 21, 2013 2:27 pm

  the NBA are a bunch of thugs. The game is no longer basketball. it's just a bunch of thugs who want to hang from the rim with big power dunks and don't care about basics of the game. and now, they are back to refurbing the key? seems like that is where they were a few years ago when the key couldn't hold the team anymore.

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  Oly80 wrote...

  manabouttown...

  January 22, 2013 6:13 am

  completely agree with you on all points.

  looking forward to hockey, though! (although, probably not at The Key.)

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  nascarfan wrote...

  Sonics

  January 21, 2013 3:48 pm

  I lost interest in the NBA when the Comm. suggested to the players that should leave their guns at home when on the road. Thugs is a good definition.

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  Steve in Bucoda wrote...

  Not that I EVER really cared about "basketball"

  January 21, 2013 6:15 pm

  or any other pro "sport". But when they began to allow these multi-millionaires to play in the olympics was the final straw. They are coming back.....Hooray???

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  Silvervan83 wrote...

  Super excited.

  January 21, 2013 8:08 pm

  I'll be glad to have the sonics back. Its nice to have some winter sports to take my kids to. Seahawks are a little out of the price range to bring the whole clan. And who knows maybe we can get a hockey team too.

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  C"mon Man wrote...

  Trickle down

  January 21, 2013 11:07 pm

  Billionaire owner pay millionaire players to sell tickets to thousand-aire fans so hourly employee's can work, and sports bars and restaurants hire more hourly people. I love capitalism!

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  dragonmeteor wrote...

  common sense......

  January 22, 2013 12:04 am

  I love how you or anyone else that opposes this, has absolutely none

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  Oly80 wrote...

  "City Councilmember Tim Burgess said investor Chris Hansen has pledged to spend $12-$15 million on some specific improvements with very little city investment."

  January 22, 2013 6:11 am

  WRONG.

  that place can work AS IS. the Seattle Storm were WNBA CHAMPS using The Key as their home court. AND it worked as the home of the Sonics up until 2008! i'm sure it's fine.

  if HE and HIS GROUP want upgrades...there should be NO cost to the city AT ALL.

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  sfk360 wrote...

  lol

  January 22, 2013 9:47 am

  Outside of the fact that the team is coming, the thing I enjoy most about this is that all of you ignorant idiots that have been spouting off "thugs" and slamming the deal without reading the MOU can do nothing about it. Enjoy ; )

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  Oly80 wrote...

  well...

  January 22, 2013 11:34 am

  we can complain. and not go to games. and smugly nod knowingly every time a "thug" gets arrested and/or embarrasses the team/ENTIRE NBA (like that's possible these days...).

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