Amid all of the excitement for a proposed arena in Seattle is this important tidbit from yesterday's news conference -- it won't be built until an NBA and NHL team are secured.

I was working under the hopeful assumption that Chris Hansen, the private-investing hedge-fund hero dude, had plans to build the arena without a firm commitment from an NBA and/or an NHL team.

That, of course, was naive on my part. I was just thinking that Hansen would bet on the come, going ahead with the project regardless, knowing that financially strapped NBA and NHL teams would be Seattle-bound at some point in the near future. They would be even more apt to show up here if a new arena were empty and ready for them to move in.

Mayor Mike McGinn, right, and Executive Dow Constantine, left, announced a proposal for a new arena on Thursday. (AP)

So even though I remain wildly optimistic about the NBA returning to Seattle and the NHL showing up for the first time since the Metropolitans disappeared 90-some years ago, the details and time frame are rather sketchy.

I like to think Hansen is privy to behind-the-scenes stuff that tells him, for instance, that the Kings won't be able to come up with a financial plan for a new arena, prompting a move to Seattle.

I also like to think that he knows something about the situation in Phoenix, suggesting that a move by the Coyotes is imminent because they're not going to be able to find local ownership.

And if they can't find local ownership, there's a rich guy in Chicago, Don Levin, who said he'd be interested in owning an NHL team in Seattle, which would be perfect because Hansen is interested in owning an NBA team but not an NHL team.

Or maybe he knows something about the fragility of other teams such as the New Orleans Hornets. But it was just the other day that NBA commissioner David Stern said the league was committed to staying in New Orleans and has two or three prospective buyers that will be required to keep them there.

I sit here and assume that Hansen is a brilliant man who has his ducks in a row, but then I wonder if he does. I have no doubts about the financing of the project, but what if Sacramento announces on March 1 that it has come up with a feasible financial plan of its own for a new arena?

And what if the Hornets find a buyer who signs a lease extension at the New Orleans Arena? And the Coyotes get a local bigwig to buy the team and keep it in Glendale, Ariz.?

Then what? Do the shovel-wielders and backhoe drivers in Seattle sit on their hands and wait two or three or even four years before the first cubic yard of dirt is moved?

When you're wildly optimistic like I am, you don't want to become slightly pessimistic because that would be a contradiction in terms, not to mention not much fun. The definition of not much fun is having this arena plan in place with no prospective tenants.

I would have much rather heard Mayor Mike McGinn say that the project will start when one team is secured in Seattle. Because here's the thing -- even those of us in the wildly optimistic camp have to invest in blind faith to think that the arrival of two teams will magically coincide with each other.

I mean, isn't there a chance that Seattle gets either the Kings or the Coyotes but not both? What happens then? What if the Kings want to move to Seattle and are fine with playing in KeyArena for two years while the new arena is built.

But will they move here if an NHL team doesn't join them right away in Seattle? Maybe there's some wiggle room, and maybe there would be assurances from the NHL that an expansion team would be coming in the future, but would Hansen be able to proceed with his plans with one firm commitment and one that's not as solid?

Given his background as a big Sonics fan, Hansen is more interested in acquiring an NBA team. But what if an NHL team comes here first?

I read a story in the Globe and Mail yesterday that said that KeyArena will be less than adequate as a temporary home for the NHL. It would have 11,000 seats, 2,000 of which would have obstructed views. The story said an NHL owner at the Key would take a financial bath, especially if the team played there for two years, presumably lessening the chances that a team would want to make the move here. Maybe the Tacoma Dome would be a better temporary option for hockey.

But again, I'm assuming that Hansen must have a handle on all of these scenarios, positive and negative. Just like him, I'm hoping for the former because when you're wildly optimistic, you want no part of the latter.

Jim Moore also writes for his website, www.jimmoorethego2guy.com, and his columns appear every Monday in the Kitsap Sun. You can reach the Go 2 Guy at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @cougsgo.

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