News roundup: SODO Arena

Happy Presidents’ Day! Government offices are closed today, so it’s a fairly quiet day on the news front. But the SODO Arena proposal is generating a bit of noise.

Seattle Times/Yakima Herald and Field of Schemes report that a consultant’s report claiming Key Arena could be refit for NBA/NHL use (rather than needing to be torn down) was delayed until after the EIS on the SODO Arena (which claimed the opposite) was published. Council members Godden and Burgess are implicated in the delay.  The Seattle Times also reports that an Obama Administration plan to remove the tax exemption used by cities to finance stadiums could throw a wrinkle into the SODO Arena plan.

In other news, Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reports on the hearing at tomorrow morning’s Council Briefing on the 23rd Avenue construction project and the problems it has created for local businesses.