Billionaire Chris Hansen has proposed to build an arena in Seattle in hopes of drawing an NBA team back to the city. The arena would be funded entirely by private money.
Hansen had previously offered to fund the majority of the construction project but asked for the city and county to put up $200 million. The arena would only be built if Seattle is first awarded an NBA expansion franchise.
The proposal calls for the building to be erected adjacent to the existent football and baseball stadiums in the city’s SoDo neighborhood.
Hansen, a hedge fund manager who was raised in Seattle, previously tried to buy the Sacramento Kings and move them to Seattle.