Council News Release

Councilmember Tim Burgess

Seattle City Councilmember Burgess' statement on proposed new sports arena

SEATTLE – Councilmember Tim Burgess, Chair of the City Council's Government Performance and Finance Committee, released the following statement regarding the proposal for a new sports arena partially funded with City bonds:

"The Council will thoroughly review the Mayor's proposal for a new sports arena. We will determine if municipal bonds for this project are an appropriate and wise commitment from the City. We will also explore any risks to the City's financial stability and whether this investment provides sufficient public benefit. To the extent appropriate, we will do this work in coordination with the County Council's concurrent review.

"As the proposal was negotiated, my colleagues and I developed a list of issues we expect the Government Performance and Finance Committee will focus on during deliberations, including financial protections for the City, the impact of the new arena on our important maritime and industrial sector and the relationship between the City and the County. We shared this list with the Mayor's staff in early April and through this committee we'll examine whether the proposed agreement addresses these and other questions." (The list of issues is available here.)

The Government Performance and Finance Committee will receive a formal briefing about the arena proposal at its next scheduled meeting on Thursday, May 31 at 9:30 a.m. in City Council Chambers.

Public comment will be accepted at this meeting but will be limited in duration. A public hearing will be scheduled for a later date.

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