Mike O’Brien says arena timeline will deliver NHL team by 2020

Raising concerns about the timeline of the proposed arena project at Seattle Center, Councilmember Mike O’Brien dropped new information about the $600 million proposal.

RELATED: Former Seattle mayor picks Oak View Group’s proposal

“I wanna just flag that I am struggling during budget season to keep up with the complexity of that and I gotta say that the budget is taking all of my attention …”

He said he is feeling “squeezed on the timeline,” KING 5 reports. And, “by a construction timeline designed to deliver an NHL team starting in 2020 — in the fall of 2020 — and I’m just weighing that reality versus the reality of wondering if there’s a way to get, you know, another month or so of time to look at that.”

Neither the NHL or Oak View Group has made any public promises about bringing a team to Seattle. The Seattle City Council has yet to vote on a final Memorandum of Understanding on the arena proposal. A potential vote is slated for early December.

If O’Brien’s concerns are heard, however, that vote could be pushed back.

The Oak View Group offered a deal to the city that would double the size of the arena at Seattle Center. It would, according to the investment group, meet NBA and NHL standards and come at little-to-no cost to taxpayers. The proposed memorandum would provide the investment group at least 39 years on the land where KeyArena sits.

The group would spend an additional $40 million for transportation mitigation and reimburse the city for lost revenue during construction. You can read an outline of the entire deal here.

But before any of that can happen, it needs to be approved by the city council.

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