A new lawsuit has been filed in Seattle attempting to block construction of an arena that could house the now-Sacramento Kings.
Citing a 2006 voter-approved initiative that requires the city of Seattle to profit from public investments in sports facilities, the lawsuit seeks to block a $200 million city and county subsidy of a planned arena. Hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen is working with Seattle and King County to build the $490 million facility, and Hansen is also in talks to purchase the Kings and move them to the Pacific Northwest.
According to a report in this morning's Seattle Times, the lawsuit charges that the arena plan fails to satisfy Initiative 91 because the funds planned to repay the public investment "represent unsecured future cash revenue or interest repayment that is not allowed under the initiative."
The arena plan is facing another lawsuit by the union representing longshoremen at the Port of Seattle. That suit charges that the city and county agreed to a deal with Hansen and his group on an arena financing plan before properly studying the project's impact on freight mobility or looking at other locations.








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