Longshore union appeals ruling favoring new Seattle arena

A union of dockworkers is pursuing a legal challenge to plans for a new sports arena in Seattle.

Officials with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 19, which represents workers at the Port of Seattle, will appeal a judge’s decision last month in favor of the arena plan.

King County Superior Court Judge Douglass North ruled Feb. 22 that a tentative agreement among the city, King County and arena builders did not violate state environmental law.

Critics insist the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) fails to consider other potential arena sites, arguing the preferred SoDo site will have a negative impact on jobs and container shipping.

“To put 1,000,000 more cars in the neighborhood puts at risk thousands of living wage jobs and without consultation with the people whose livelihoods are put at risk and depend on a viable working infrastructure and the movement of freight without long delays,” said Peter Steinbrueck, a former consultant for project critics and now a candidate for mayor of Seattle.

An environmental review of the project continues while opponents appeal the ruling. Critics argue that it was improper for politicians to sign the agreement before environmental information was known.

“Because of the fast-tracking of this study, we will not have identified the environmental impacts from the environmental review, which could run into the tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars,” Steinbrueck told a news conference Tuesday in Seattle.

Investor Chris Hansen wants to build a new arena for professional basketball and hockey, hoping to bring an NBA team back to Seattle.