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Thank you so much for the support and assistance in resolving that.

All right.

Good morning.

The April 2nd, 2026 meeting of the Safety Transportation Engineering Project Sports and Experiences Committee formerly known as the Transportation Waterfront in Seattle Center.

Should straighten my figurative tie when I say that, to be all formal.

But that meeting, this meeting will come to order.

It is 9.38 a.m.

I am Rob Sacca, chair of the committee.

Will the committee clerk please call the roll?

Councilmember Foster.

Here.

Councilmember Kettle.

Here.

Councilmember Lin.

Here.

Vice Chair Rink.

members present.

Chair Saka.

Here.

Chair, there are five members present.

All right, excellent.

If there is no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing and seeing no objection, the agenda is hereby adopted.

Good morning, members of the public, colleagues, media partners, and others.

This is our very first steps committee meeting of the spring.

Spring obviously symbolizes renewal, rebirth, and growth.

acting as a powerful metaphor for embracing new beginnings.

It's actually my favorite, my personal favorite season.

I like to think of spring as an opportunity to look forward.

We'll be mindful of the past as well.

Our agenda here today has some very exciting items to do just that.

First and foremost, I'll share that I'm disheartened to report that tragically Seattle recently experienced its second traffic fatality in 2026. A woman of approximately 52 years of age tragically lost her life in a single car collision on the 1500 block of Elliott Avenue West on March 18th, which was just before our last committee meeting.

because of some latency in data reporting.

We're learning about it now.

Her name has not been publicly released to the, or been released to the public via media outlets, so therefore we're not naming her to protect and preserve her dignity and privacy.

My office has been working closely with SDOT and the Department of Neighborhoods to hold a first ever community traffic safety forum.

The plan is for this to occur somewhere in Councilmember Lin's district.

And I appreciate the partnership and collaboration of Councilmember Lin as well.

I know this is an issue that's near and dear to him and his constituents.

And so we're working with the departments right now to finalize, again, first ever Community Traffic Safety Forum.

Stay tuned for details.

in the spring sometime.

It was supposed to be late March, early April, but stay tuned.

I imagine it'll be in spring at the latest, so stay tuned.

And also we'll share on the traffic safety front that at our very next committee meeting, I've invited SDOT to come share a new dimension and report out on the state of traffic safety in our city.

And so at our very next steps meeting, we're going to have the chief traffic safety officer from SDOT come do exactly that.

So stay tuned.

This issue of traffic safety more broadly remains a high priority for me and this committee, and I know many of my colleagues as well.

So we're going to keep laser focused on that and holding ourselves accountable, including by initiating the efforts that I mentioned earlier and more.

On a lighter note, last week I had a privilege of attending the Mariners' opening day game against the Cleveland Guardians at T-Mobile Park.

I took a personal record for shared micromobility trips in one day.

Exciting times, went from the waterfront to city hall, city hall to the convention center, convention center back to city hall, and then city hall to the stadiums, and more, probably.

But love shared micromobility.

And we also know on the sports front, which is in large part why we're here today, with the leadership of co-owners Samantha Holloway, the Seattle Kraken, they have established themselves as a viable and leading NHL franchise in many respects in just five years.

It's really exciting to think about the success of a prospective NBA franchise could experience right here in the city of Seattle, given our rich tradition and history as a basketball city.

Now, some said Seattle might get a shot.

Truth is, we've been ready all along.

For many in Seattle and across our region, the mere prospect of returning an NBA franchise to our city has been a long time coming.

Since the Sonics departed in 2008, there's been a noticeable void in Seattle's cultural landscape.

But the exciting news is that last week, on March 25th, the NBA Board of Governors voted to authorize formal expansion talks with prospective ownership groups in Seattle and Las Vegas, beginning play as soon as the 2028-29 season.

So the question isn't if the Sonics are coming back, it's when.

And in fairness, the league is in the driver's seat at this point.

The league is in charge of this very important process.

And there are also a lot of intricate dependencies at play as well.

That said, the city of Seattle refuses to be a passive observer in the process.

We're stepping up and taking specific concrete actions and leading with local policy.

And more to help shape and influence our own destiny.

And sports speak.

We're controlling our own controllables.

Responsibility for bringing back our Sonics is shared.

And I'm proud to say that our city is stepping up to do its part as well.

That's why I've proudly sponsored and introduced the joint mayoral council resolution affirming Seattle's readiness to welcome back our Sonics.

But let it be known, hear ye, hear ye, we're not auditioning.

We're ready, and we're ready today.

You can hear it in our gyms, feel it on our streets.

This is a basketball city.

And this moment reflects real action.

This is about showing the league, ownership groups, and the world that Seattle is aligned, prepared, and very serious.

We have a deep basketball legacy, a strong, rabid, and passionate global fan base.

Climate Pledge Arena isn't a proposal.

It's proof.

We're one of the strongest markets in the country.

unified leadership across our city, region, and state.

This is bigger than basketball, folks.

It is about economic growth, community investment, and restoring a defining part of Seattle's identity.

I did a recent hot take video on social media.

I said plainly, Seattle is not waiting.

Seattle is ready.

Seattle ready.

We're doing the work.

We're closely collaborating and importantly, we're leading.

We're also ready and willing to partner with the National Basketball Association.

To bring our Sonics back home once and for all.

Buckle up.

Because today you'll learn that Seattle is not making a case.

Seattle is making a declaration.

The headline about our city's readiness is crystal clear.

If you're building a 32-team league, you don't skip the city of Seattle.

We got the fans, the arena, the economy.

This is a layup.

Nah, layups too easy.

This is actually channel the Sonics history and legacy.

This is akin to a Gary Payton alley-oop.

With the very vicious posterization, Tomahawk Jam by Sean Kemp with emphasis.

More than a layup.

So for today's meeting, we have two exciting agenda items that are intended to send a crystal clear signal to the NBA and the world that Seattle is ready for the return of a professional men's basketball team.

First, we will host and convene a community roundtable discussion featuring leaders and representatives from the mayor's office, the Seattle Sports Commission, local fan advocacy groups, Climate Arena, a youth advocacy organization.

We will also have a, and we're lucky to have, a 10-year NBA veteran and local legend who played his high school and college basketball right here in the city of Seattle.

This will truly be a historic and timely conversation.

Next, we will consider bold, transformative new legislation that my office developed in close partnership and collaboration with Mayor Wilson, which unequivocally declares that Seattle is ready for an NBA team.

Seattle ready.

This transformative piece of legislation has the potential to be, again in the sports context, a total game changer in terms of sealing the deal to bring our Sonics back home once and for all.

This historic bill leverages a data-based approach to highlight a number of key factors that really demonstrate our city's readiness, resolve, and enduring commitment to bring home our Sonics.

So today, we're rallying around Seattle Ready.

Go Sonics!

And I will share equally exciting, equally as glamorous, at least in my mind, in my heart, our third and final agenda item of the day will be a presentation from the Washington Department of Transportation, WSDOT, about the First Avenue South bridge repair project.

Bridges are glamorous.

Bridges are important.

We're going to check in about this important project.

It has caused significant disruptions and delays in my council district, but have citywide and regional impact.

It led to lane closures and then a full repair response due to safety concerns.

So I really appreciate our partners at WSDOT and their rapid response to this emergency situation so far, and looking forward to hearing their update.

Thank you.

We'll now move on to our hybrid public comment period.

Public comments should relate to items on today's agenda and within the purview of this committee.

Clerk, how many speakers are signed up today?

Chair, we currently have one in-person speaker signed up and there's one remote speaker.

Excellent.

Each speaker will have approximately two minutes.

We'll start with in-speakers first.

Clerk, can you please read the public comment instructions?

The public comment period will be moderated in the following manner.

Speakers will be called in the order in which they register.

Speakers will alternate between sets of in-person and remote speakers until the public comment period has ended.

Speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left of their time.

Speakers' mics will be muted if they do not end their comments within the allotted time to allow us to call on the next speaker.

The public comment period is now open, and we will begin with the first speaker on the list.

That will be in-person speaker, Aaron Price.

Go ahead.

Are you ready?

Good morning, Council Members.

I'm not sure if this is a correct venue to voice these comments, but my community in 14th Avenue has been desperate to be heard and seen, so I'll read this brief statement here.

My name is Aaron Price.

I'm a resident of 14th Avenue West in Queen Anne.

I'm here today on behalf of my neighbours to address SDOT's proposed removal of street parking on our block.

This plan would eliminate over 50 parking spots on a street where most homes were built without driveways or garages.

The impact is real.

Seniors and residents with disabilities who depend on nearby parking to safely reach their homes.

Increased speeding on a street that loses its only traffic calming buffer, parking gridlock on side streets already at capacity, and significant loss of property value for homeowners.

What concerns us most is the process.

We went from announcement to enforcement with no opportunity for community input.

As taxpayers and voters, this is not how this should work.

To be clear, we support emergency vehicle access.

We are not here to oppose the fire department.

We are here because alternative solutions exist.

For example, a painted clearance line formalizing how residents have parked for over 25 years could guarantee access to the fire department needs without destroying parking for an entire neighborhood.

We are requesting a meeting with our community, the Department of Transportation, and the Seattle Fire Department to discuss solutions before enforcement moves forward.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, sir.

Our next speaker will be remote speaker David Haines.

Mr. Haines, please press star six.

Hi, thank you, David Haines.

Is there any way we can get a law that says any WSDOT contract has to have double shifts on the job with a proper amount of pay so that we can expedite the projects and get them done in a timely fashion?

Secondly, I would like to lodge a protest and complaint about the resolution that council is offering up as a favor to OBG monopolizing the ownership of MBA.

The Climate Pledge Arena, also known as Cracked Roof Arena, violated the Memorandum of Understanding and dug 40 feet deep.

And they cut off every foundation to that cracked roof and then put these cranes underneath it to try to hold the balance.

And then they spackled it and repainted it.

And it's the ugliest thing we've ever seen.

And they bypassed some of the civil engineering integrities when they put these tiebacks up underneath the sidewalk everyone uses to hold down the tie-backs that hold up the unsafe walls.

And it's not fair that Chris Hansen gets cheated by the racist in this city that had conflicts of interest with the pedophile mayor that did a deal for the Kraken that allowed them to get a $100 million tax break, which negated any investment improvements in Lower Queen Anne.

That looks like a slum with a road rage passing through.

And we need a better interpretation of policy because I can't even get to the bus stop between Pine and Pike on 3rd Avenue because it's still too unsafe to put the bus stop back that they paid a million dollars to put in.

And we miss the transfer every time.

And yet all these drug addicts are still about to ruin it for everybody.

And we still don't have a collaboration between the bus drivers, transit security, the city police.

and the sheriff's department to shut down the evil predators in and around transit-oriented public transportation that they use as a camouflage to keep getting away with the storm.

All right, confirming there are no additional registered speakers?

Confirmed.

All right, we'll now proceed to our items of business.

So let us now move on to our first item of business.

Will the clerk please read item number one into the record?

Agenda item number one, Seattle NBA Readiness Roundtable.

Excellent, thank you.

And will our presenters and panelists please join us at the table?

While the presenters come to the table, colleagues, I'll explain the sort of general plan, run a show, structure for today's community roundtable conversation.

Again, to frame this conversation, the NBA Board of Governors has recently authorized exploring a Seattle expansion team and ownership groups may now apply.

The league will conduct a strict approval process led by current owners.

Today's round table conversation is intended to be a facilitated discussion designed to show Seattle's readiness for the return of the Sonics.

Now, there are many fans, organizations, individuals, leaders who have supported this initiative over the years.

And in organizing this panel and convening it, we've had to make some tough decisions to hand select, but we're able to hand select what we believe to be seven of the best leaders in this space to share their invaluable perspectives and contribute to the broader community conversation, showcasing our readiness to welcome back our Sonics.

So first off, each panelist will get an opportunity to sort of briefly introduce yourselves and explain your affiliation to the local basketball community, ideally one minute max.

At that point, I will then facilitate a structured guided conversation by asking a series of questions to individual panelists.

Each panelist will get at least one question to answer.

And if a question is asked of another panelist, not necessarily directed at you, but it really is on your mind and it's on your heart and you feel moved to speak, feel free to do that occasionally.

And so we'll go through that sort of process.

And after we finish the structured questions for everyone, I'll turn it over to my colleagues for any questions, comments, feedback that they have to this conversation.

But first, let's begin with some brief self intros from each participant at the table, starting first with our deputy mayor, Surat, and then we'll go Spencer and then go back that way.

three things, uh, Deputy Mayor looking for and for everyone.

Your name.

Your basketball community affiliation.

And Let's go with what excites you the most about the prospect of bringing back our Sonics.

Go ahead, Deputy Mayor.

Thank you, Council Member and Chair Saka and members of the STEPS Committee.

My name is Brian Surratt.

I am the Deputy Mayor for the City of Seattle.

And my affiliation to this, to Sonics basketball was I moved from Oklahoma to Seattle in 1998. And this was my first NBA team, first NBA experience and proud of that fact.

So I forgot the third question.

What was the third question?

What excites you the most about the prospect of welcoming our Sonics back home?

Just having basketball, men's basketball here, to round it out.

Everyone else has stayed the course, our women's basketball, but we need to bring men's professional basketball back to Seattle.

Love it, love it.

And Deputy Mayor, that's a dope shirt.

Can you show it off for the camera?

Do the Superman, just spread it.

There it is.

There it is. so they can see it in the back.

All right, thank you, Deputy Mayor.

Mr. Hawes, welcome.

Your name, basketball community affiliation.

What excites you most about the prospect of bringing back the Sonics?

Good morning, Councilmember, and thank you for having us.

My name's Spencer Hawes.

I'm a born and raised Seattleite who was fortunate enough to play for a while in the NBA, but always a Sonics fan first.

And I think the thing that I'm most excited about is going back to a game with my dad.

Love it.

And I note that you are a former Husky Go Dawgs and one of our local legends as well.

Welcome.

All right.

Go ahead.

Thank you, council member.

My name is Brian Robinson.

I'm a Seattle native, University of Washington graduate, and US Army veteran.

In July 2006, nearly 20 years ago, I founded Save Our Sonics and Storm.

And for 20 years, I have witnessed a fan movement so passionate so enduring and long-lasting that former Sonics Hall of Fame head coach describes it as unprecedented in the history of professional sports.

I want to just take a second to remind everybody that we have an obligation to protect a fan base that has been through a lot and that we should not get ahead of this issue.

In this moment of opportunity, good leadership means encouraging our city to be prepared while managing expectations and communicating clearly that this deal is not yet done.

To quote Cooper Cupp, I'm not smiling until there are three zeros on the clock.

The thing that excites me the most is a quote from poet Thomas Paine, who said, the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.

What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly, and dearness is the only thing that gives it value.

Because of our long journey, not in spite of it, the fan base is hungrier than any other in history.

We're rabid, we're obsessed, and we are ready.

In addition to being Love it.

Thank you, Mr. Robinson.

Good morning.

Good morning.

My name is Kristen Akers.

In 2012, while I was a student at UW, I worked with Brian, with a volunteer.

Ms. Akers, she's speaking to the mic a little, like, to put a little closer, maybe.

Thank you.

I assisted Brian as a volunteer at Arena Solution.

That experience and my introduction to the Sonics fan community just deepened my connection to the city and showed me the powerful role that sports can play in community identity.

Today, 14 years later after meeting Brian, I'm a corporate attorney and proud to still be a part of the Sonics community.

I serve as the COO of Seattle NBA Fans, a volunteer organization dedicated to supporting the NBA's return to Seattle.

We care deeply about the future of this region and we're committed to creating space for both longtime fans and a new generation.

We want to ensure that fans have a voice in the return of the Sonics.

In many ways, the fan base has been activated for the past 18 years, and what we're seeing now is just the acceleration of that.

Sports unify communities in a very unique way where every political party, race, and gender is represented in the stands under one roof.

So using this moment to unify our city is a really special opportunity.

That's what I'm the most excited about.

Love it.

Thank you so much.

Good morning.

My name is Rosie Sell.

I'm VP of Marketing for Climate Pledge Arena.

I also serve on the One Roof Foundation board.

And I'm most excited about the return of the Sonics for, or the return of NBA basketball for professional reasons, but from a personal reason and how we've experienced what sports can do into a community.

Just as Kristen said, it's something that's really impactful across a large breadth of our community.

And I think what sports has the power to do is unprecedented.

So it's exciting to see them come back.

Terrific.

Thank you.

Good morning, Councilmember and Chair Saka.

I'm Beth Knox, President and CEO of the Seattle Sports Commission.

Our primary purpose, in addition to supporting our local sports community, is to work with our professional teams and our sports venues to bid on future events as well as future teams to bring to this region.

So this is an exciting time.

One of my greatest excitement about bringing back the Sonics or having an NBA team here is the national and international attention that that will bring to our region.

We have tremendous momentum right now with all of our recent events that we've hosted, the recent successes.

and proving that we are truly a world-class sports city.

And I think the NBA team will just drive that message home.

Thank you, Ms. Knox.

Love it.

Last but not least, good morning.

Good morning, council members.

My name is Brad Myers, co-founder of a nonprofit called Rise Above.

I'm also the chair of the Lenny Wilkins Foundation.

We also have formal partnerships with Nate McMillan, Gary Payton, Dale Ellis, Ben Baker, et cetera.

And we use basketball and primarily sport as a modality to reach our youth, specifically around mental health issues, primarily, along with educational issues.

We serve about 20,000 kids a year.

Terrific.

Thank you.

What excites you the most about

I think what excites me is, well, there's two things.

One is the platform that the Sonic franchise can give us to reach more use.

And I'll give you one example.

We brought a guy in here about a year ago.

His name is Chris Herron.

Chris Herron's a former NBA player, been in recovery about 13 years.

ESPN documentary called Unguarded.

I encourage you to watch.

The most powerful speaker there is around youth and mental health.

We brought him in, Nathan Hale.

We brought Sean with us, Sean Camp.

And we had about 1,800 kids in the assembly.

And we focused on the mental health element, obviously having Shawn there, got the kids' attention.

The point is, at the end of that assembly, we had 70 kids come forward, ask for help.

That's the beauty of the platform.

That's the magic that the players have.

And the guys we work with understand that it's not about autographs and photos, it's about reaching views.

And I think Spencer's also went out to some of our facilities, have been a great support to our program, and it gives us a platform to reach more kids.

So we see this as an opportunity to incrementally reach thousands of kids.

Love it, love it.

Thank you so much.

So I have some questions.

Targeted questions to each panelist.

I will start with directly from the player's experience, player's perspective with Mr. Hawes.

So many NBA players played their high school and or college ball in Seattle and the surrounding region.

Can you please discuss and share how this network specifically contributes to the local basketball culture and identity here in the city of Seattle?

Yeah, that's a great question.

I think we're so unique kind of being tucked up here at the edge of the country.

And I think the thing that stands out the most to me is the connection kind of through the generations and the accessibility that To Brad's point, the kids have always had, whether it be Sonics or local professional guys like myself that never played for the Sonics but played elsewhere, and the willingness from kind of the older generation to stick out their hands and take guys under their wing, provide mentorship, and instill confidence in them, and I think it started kind of my experience back kind of in the early, mid 90s, and it's just been kind of rolling forward ever since.

And I think despite the Sonics being gone, I think we kind of doubled down on sharing that responsibility.

If you look at like Jamal Crawford's pro-am and all the work he's put into that summer after summer, you know, calling in favors, getting guys to come out and participate in that.

I think a lot of us kind of viewed that as the only way we could provide, you know, It's not an NBA game, but if you can see LeBron James come out or your favorite Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, guys like that, it gives kids a little taste of it because there is a lost generation here that has no experience with male professional basketball in the city.

And I think the cool thing about the culture here is That part never died.

That connection never died.

And I just think it makes it that much easier going forward to having that collective in the community that's ready to jump back in and embrace it with open arms.

And I'm just really excited to have been a part of it.

just want to help see the next generation succeed on and off the court.

And I think that's, I think that mentorship is really what stands out in the community.

And for me personally was a huge part of my development as a player and as a person.

Makes sense.

Thank you so much.

You mentioned Seattle legend, Jamal Crawford, had the pleasure recently of watching his son play against West Seattle High School that I represent.

and I think the kid's in ninth grade, but that kid's a stone cold killer on the court himself.

Yeah, maybe he'll be a future Sonic one day.

But thank you.

Deputy Mayor Surratt, would just love to hear from you from a city perspective.

What does MBA Ready actually require in terms of policy, infrastructure, and alignment?

And where are we today on that path?

All right, thank you again, Council Member and Chair Saka.

I want to take a moment to step back and ground us on what Climate Pledge Arena represents and why it stands as one of the strongest public-private partnerships that this city, our city, your city, has ever delivered.

A little over a decade ago, we faced a clear challenge.

Key Arena, while iconic, was no longer viable as a modern sports and entertainment venue.

We were losing contracts, concerts, events, and we had already lost the Sonics.

The question before the city at that time was straightforward but consequential.

How do we transform a critical civic asset without placing new burdens on taxpayers?

This city council, this city made a deliberate policy choice.

We would pursue a privately financed solution on publicly owned land.

So The time machine, 2016, we issued a competitive RFP, which I was honored to have led with two other city legends, Ben Noble, who we honored last night in his retirement, and retired director of Seattle Center, Robert Nelms.

The three of us, through a community process, we ultimately selected a developer that would do what others would not do.

fully finance, design, and operate a world-class arena while preserving the historic roof and integrating that facility into the fabric of Seattle Center.

From there, this city council approved an MOU and final transaction documents setting in motion more than a billion dollars of private investment and delivered without a single cent of direct public capital.

And the structure of this deal is what matters most.

The city retained ownership of the arena and the land.

The private partner took all the construction risks, including cost overruns and operational responsibility.

The city benefited from the rent, tax revenue, and long-term asset value.

That was the right alignment of risk and reward.

But at the same time, this was not just a financial transaction.

It was a policy-driven agreement that reflected all of our values.

Strong labor and workforce commitments, transit integration with the goal to reduce congestion and increase access, global leadership in sustainability and climate innovation, and intentional integration with Seattle Center as a civic and cultural campus.

And today, we are seeing the results.

We have the Seattle Kraken.

We have the Storm.

We have the Torrent.

We restored Seattle as a top tier global entertainment market.

We've created jobs and economic activity that ripple across uptown and downtown and across this region.

And most importantly, this arena was built to be NBA ready from day one.

So when we talk about the possible return of the Sonics, this is no longer a question of if the city is ready.

It is a question of timing.

Seattle is ready.

We have a state of the art privately financed NBA arena.

one of the strongest media markets and fan bases in the country, a proven track record of supporting basketball through the Seattle storm, and a civic business community aligned in bringing back the Sonics, and a strong partner in One Roof Sports and Entertainment to bring this all home.

Just importantly, we have shown the league something critical.

We can deliver major league infrastructure the right way, aligned with our values, without putting taxpayers at risk.

That matters because leagues don't just evaluate markets.

They evaluate stability, partnership, and execution.

And our city has demonstrated all three of those.

No deal is without trade-offs.

We've agreed to a long-term arena exclusive contract and lease terms to secure this level of private investment.

But in return, we unlocked a transformational project that cities across the country are still trying to figure out how to do better.

So as we reflect on this project and look ahead, the conclusion's clear.

We preserve public ownership, We transferred risk, we delivered a world-class, MBA-ready facility, and we positioned Seattle for the return of the Sonics.

As you said in your opening comments, we are ready, and we've been preparing ourselves for a long, long time.

Thank you.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor Shirai.

Well said, and I appreciate you kind of walking us through the arc of the journey.

and various players and leaders involved in that process, yourself included, and I appreciate your prior involvement and your current involvement.

You know, now there's always new participants and new leaders and people stepping up to the plate to build upon that great work that is a very innovative, uh, model that we have in place, as you described, for the public-private partnership model for Climate Pledge, and so let's go.

Seattle ready.

All right, I'm gonna pass the baton and ask a question of our partners and fan group leaders, Ms. Akers and Mr. Robinson.

Can you share from each of your perspectives, what are the strongest indicators today that Seattle is an undeniable MBA market?

Thank you very much, Councilmember.

20 years ago, when we formed Save Our Sonics and Storm, we were partially successful, and we are grateful to the four-time world champion Seattle Storm for helping to maintain basketball culture in the city.

We are grateful for Spencer Hawes, Brad Myers, and other people who kept the culture alive.

And we are grateful for Climate Pledge Arena, all the hard work of Brian Surratt, because all of those things have contributed to Seattle's status as an undeniable market.

Naismith Hall of Fame Coach George Doris Carl also says, Seattle never stopped being a special NBA market.

I can feel it every time I'm here.

The Seattle community deserves its team, and I look forward to being part of the team.

The success of the storm, the activities of the basketball culture, commercial ventures such as the Iconic Sonics podcast that has hosted hundreds of events, hundreds of podcasts, brought together thousands of people, and Simply Seattle, the region's largest sports retailer, says that Sonics apparel is consistently one of Simply Seattle's top-selling collections.

With demand surging around major Seattle sports moments, with the most recent expansion news, we are already seeing a significant spike in interest from the fans eager to rep the return of the Sonics.

So you have a level of commercial interest, you have a level of cultural influence, you have restaurants, you have nightlife, you have music, all deeply, deeply attached to the Sonics movement.

All of those things are indicators that over 20 years, the culture has stayed alive.

But I'm going to reiterate, the thing that makes Seattle most undeniable as an NBA market is our future audience.

It is the interest of the young people.

It is all of the people that have been nurtured by Spencer Hawes.

It is the people who have grown up cheering for the storm that are ready for the NBA's return.

Love it, and very well said.

Miss Akers, feel free to build upon that if you want, but I'm actually going to ask a new, I'm going to tee up a new question for you, if you don't mind as well.

So just speak to whichever was on your heart the most.

Where do grassroots efforts like Seattle NBA fans have the most influence and impact from your perspective?

To build on what Brian said, just to add, I think we also have one of the strongest corporate ecosystems to support NBA expansion.

We have a growing tech-forward younger audience that perfectly aligns with the NBA's future.

Seattle isn't a market waiting to prove itself.

It's a proven market that's missing a team.

And then to answer your question, I think participating in discussions like this one, it kind of starts with ensuring fans have a voice and a spot at the table.

We demonstrate that the interest is active and growing.

The Sonics brand is in high demand, and very few teams have gone this long and still carry this level of recognition and emotional connection.

There can be a decent amount of bitterness among fans with how we lost the team in 08, so I think our group specifically has dedicated ourselves to being forward-looking and positive and to set the tone, especially for a new generation that are just really happy to have a team in their city.

Love, love, love all that.

Councilmember, I'm sorry.

Can I add that over the years, we've looked back to try to figure out why the Sonics have the staying power that they do.

And what we've really heard from people is that the Sonics, more than any other team, existed in the neighborhoods where our communities lived and worked.

They were close to working class people.

They had an active presence in the Central District.

They had an active presence in Pioneer Square.

And the future of the Sonics' impact and fan base is going to lie in those traditional neighborhoods, neighborhoods of color that are culturally aligned, that have deep ties and memories of Gary Payton and Spencer Hawes.

But the presence of the Sonics in those communities originally is worth noting and recognizing.

Makes sense.

Thank you.

I'm going to move on to our Climate Pledge Arena leader.

How is Climate Pledge Arena uniquely positioned and specifically ready to house the Sonics, our new NBA franchise?

And are there plans for annual upgrades to the facility?

Sure.

Thank you, Councilmember.

So we're fortunate that we're already home to professional basketball.

We've hosted over 90, actually, 90 Storm games with five successful seasons.

So we've been hosting basketball since we opened five years ago.

We've hosted four preseason NBA games with the LA Clippers, multiple Gonzaga sold out elite college basketball games.

We've also hosted two NCAA March Madness events with the Women's Super Regional in 2023. and the men's first and second rounds in 25, which we will again host in 28. So this building, as Deputy Mayor alluded to, was built intentionally with basketball in mind, with hockey in mind, obviously, and with concerts and other events.

producing nearly 1,000 events since we've opened.

It's something our staff and our team are uniquely capable of doing, that type of volume.

So that's one way I would say that we're absolutely ready to house the Sonics.

Part of our lease that was negotiated is an annual improvement plan.

We do have to put money back into this building to make sure it's state of the art for long term.

And I think specifically to an NBA franchise.

I think many of you have seen the NBA locker room space that's on the event level.

It's sitting there ready to be built out.

That's one of the first things that would have to be contemplated as a major improvement.

But otherwise, we are ready for NBA basketball today and are committed to working with the league should any other requirements be necessary.

Yes, thank you for that, and thank you for specifically calling out and mentioning our four-time champion, Seattle Storm.

Love taking my family to the Storm games and watching those terrific women do great things on and off the court and in our community.

And this isn't about one or the other.

Many things can coexist at the same time.

This isn't even about professional versus semi-pro.

We are through and through a sports city and we are a basketball city.

So thank you for that.

I'm gonna ask a quick follow-up question for you before turning to Ms. Knox.

How would adding an NBA franchise change the arena's event mix and economics?

And what does a successful long-term partnership between the arena and a team look like from your perspective?

I think I'll go back to when we developed and put our operating plans in for this arena.

It is to be busy every day of the year if possible.

So we do about 200 to 220 public events every year.

Adding 40 plus more guaranteed dates is the goal.

And so that's absolutely something that we have contemplated since opening is how do we fit as many dates into the building as possible.

We have an amazing programming team that manages a really complicated calendar.

and they've gotten really, really good at working with the leagues and going through that process.

So adding 40 plus more dates for us is the goal every year.

And so it's something we're absolutely planning on.

And I think in regards to a partnership between a team and Arena, we just look at what we've done with the Kraken, how we've integrated into the community, how we've integrated into Seattle Center how we've driven economic impact into the uptown neighborhood and the center itself.

And so that's the goal with another franchise.

We did the expansion team with the PWHL, and we've seen an incredible amount of activity with that team coming through and really integrating themselves into our city.

So that would be what our goal is with a new team.

Thank you so much.

Moving on to our partner at the Seattle Sports Commission, Ms. Knox.

There are currently five cities, five, that have all six major professional sports leagues.

The MLB, NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL, and MLS.

These cities are New York, LA, Chicago, Dallas, and Washington, DC, the other Washington.

What makes Seattle uniquely prepared and positioned to become the sixth city to have a team from all six leagues?

Well, first of all, We've already hosted this team.

We've already had this team here.

And so that foundation and groundwork has already been laid.

I think that it's also interesting that, to your point, we actually also have a number of other professional teams in addition to the five you mentioned.

And we've also recently launched a new professional team here in Seattle with the PWHL, our Seattle torrent.

just over a year ago.

So we are uniquely qualified from that standpoint.

But we have, we'll actually, when we are successful in bringing the NBA back, Seattle will be the only city in the United States to have nine professional teams here.

So you've got the NWSL, of course, the PWHL, Major League Rugby.

This is an ecosystem of sports here in Seattle that is something unique and very special.

cross support from all of our professional teams.

We've seen it when players attend the games of other teams and the support from the front office organizations in promoting what the teams are doing, cheering each other on.

This is something that is unique to Seattle.

And I can assure you from talking with my counterparts across the country that it is unique.

that that collaboration and really inclusive support for each other is something special that we have.

And that is, I think, what is really an element that provides a lot of confidence in our ability to bring on a team like the NBA and know that it will be successful.

Well said, Ms. Knox.

And I say again, that was very important.

I'm going to echo what I just heard.

If the Sonics come back, Seattle would be the only city to have nine professional sports teams, the only city.

And that is a reflection of our city, our economy, the local market, the Climate Pledge Arena readiness, so many factors, rabid loyal fan base, community groups and organizations and so much more.

The league would be lucky.

to reenter the Seattle market when we talk about men's professional basketball.

And if given the opportunity, our city and our fan base would be lucky to have them here as well.

Excellent point, thank you.

Moving on to Mr. Myers.

Last but not least, of course.

What will an NBA team add to the youth experience in the Seattle area that is unique from what other local teams contribute?

Well, I think there's a few things.

First of all, I think basketball has been a central part of this community for a long time.

And I brought a photo today I won't share with you right now, but it's my brother and I in 1968 wearing our Seattle Sonic t-shirts.

I went to the first game here.

Bob Rule was my first hero.

Bob Rule was the first superstar for the Sonics back in 68, 69. So basketball's entrenched in this community.

And I think the pro franchises, we have partnerships with all of them.

But specifically, I want to highlight two.

One is the Seattle Storm relationship we have.

It's very intentional.

It's mental health related.

We're able to serve thousands of kids every year with that partnership.

So they give us a platform to reach kids.

The second group I want to obviously acknowledge is One Roof.

And Jackie was blessed enough to receive a national award around health and wellness by President Biden.

And she was able to go back to the White House here a couple of years ago and present the work that we're doing with Rise Above and, more importantly, present why partnerships are important.

And what One Roof has done is given us a platform to reach thousands of kids because they're intentional.

It's not a marketing gig.

It's real mentorship.

It's real giving.

Beth and her platform has given us tremendous opportunities to reach kids.

I guess the point I'm making is there are amazing organizations here that do give back to our youth, and they are very intentional.

We're part of the WNBA, NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball, and they're all on a push now for mental health, and specifically around our youth.

So we think we've aligned ourselves with the franchises locally, but I will say this about One Roof, and Jackie used that testimony back with President Biden to say, here's what can be impacted.

when a franchise invests back in the community.

And it's not always about dollars, it's about access.

And we're very blessed here in Seattle to have the organizations we have.

Thank you so much for that.

I'm gonna close out some questions and then open it up to my colleagues, close out some questions.

At the end of the day, this is about creating a vibrant, rich, Fun, safe experience for our fans and a great environment for our players and talent to showcase their athletic talent on and off the court.

So final two questions for our fan group and then Mr. Haas from a player perspective.

First off for Ms. Akers and Mr. Robinson, if you could just briefly, I'm a firm believer in the power of storytelling I think you all are as well.

What story about Seattle basketball is resonating most right now from your perspective?

I think we're sticking to Seattle is ready and that Seattle is a basketball city and it always has been.

Seattle never turned its back on the Sonics and now that story is evolving to something even bigger.

It's no longer about bringing a team back someday.

It's increasingly viewed as the most obvious expansion and relocation decision in sports.

We're seeing a shift from nostalgia to readiness, and there's a national consensus with media and players that Seattle's the right choice.

There's a lot of people that we wish were still here to see this.

Lenny Wilkins always comes to mind.

And if and when we have a team, I'm really excited to see those stories have a more permanent place to live and be celebrated.

I constantly see comments online too that say things like, I live in Denver, but I really hope Seattle gets its team back.

So it just feels like kind of the entire country is rooting for us right now.

Yes, indeed.

Mr. Robinson, I'm going to shift it up here just a little bit.

What does an activated Sonics fan base look like in 2026 for you?

In 2026, an activated Sonics fan base stops asking if Seattle is ready and starts asking, what is Seattle ready for?

they start asking what is the best case scenario of the Sonic's return.

They start imagining tremendous positive community impact.

They start striving for a deeply rooted franchise that is tied to the history but also focused on the future.

We've seen tremendous participation from kind of the Holy Trinity of gathering spaces, food, music, sports, all coming together around this issue.

We've seen young people and new people coming together around this issue.

So I think that going forward, our fan base needs to not settle, and they need not have low expectations.

An activated Sonics fan base looks at this journey we've had, looks at the hunger we have, and says, what can we accomplish from here?

Yes.

Finally, Mr. Hawes, how have player expectations around arenas and facilities changed since your era?

You're a 10-year NBA veteran.

And how important is a venue like Climate Pledge Arena to long-term success and viability?

It's been a monumental shift, I would say, from when I came into the league.

I remember my first press conference down in Sacramento.

They asked me if I wanted to do a tour of the old Arco Arena, and I was very excited.

About two minutes into the tour, I'm looking around and thinking to myself, wait, we're losing the Sonics because Key Arena's not...

not apparently suitable.

Arco was in, let's just say, a state of disrepair beyond that.

So the league has come a long way.

I think player expectations, I might go so far as saying guys are a little bit spoiled now because of the consistency of the level of venue across the National Basketball Association.

But you definitely notice it.

I think it was easier when I was playing because there was more of a delta between the world-class venues and then the ones that were just kind of sufficient.

I think that tide has risen significantly, like I said, but it's something as a player, whether it's your home arena, having pride in that building, if you're coming in as a visitor, you notice, wow, this is...

The amenities, the crowd, you know, it's something that you definitely take note of.

And then for free agents, you know, if it's equal on the contract offers, things like not only the arena but the practice facility and everything along the line, those can swing decisions.

So I think it's very important, and I've been to a lot of them.

I've been to a lot of the new ones, and I can't say that I've been to one that's more impressive than Climate Pledge.

And...

Obviously, like everyone said, it's build out the locker room and we're ready to go.

Seattle ready.

Build out that locker room, we're ready to go.

I'm so inspired and fired up, throwing on my Sonics hat here.

Colleagues, I'm gonna turn the floor over to you all for any questions, comments, feedback that you may have.

I note that council members Kettle and Foster have their hand up, but I'm gonna give our customary rights of first refusal to Vice Chair Rank for any questions, comments, feedback, if you have any.

You're muted, Vice Chair.

Or we can't hear you at least.

Can't hear you.

It does not show muted.

Maybe we'll come back to you.

Keeping this moving along.

Next up was Councilmember Kettle.

Thank you, Chair Osaka.

I really want to thank Mr. Myers, Ms. Knox, Ms. Selt, Ms. Akers, Mr. Robinson, Deputy Mayor Surratt, and of course, Mr. Hawes, who, in addition to Seattle and UW, I also want to claim for Queen Anne and St. Anne's.

So it goes even further into community with Spencer Hawes, and I really appreciate him and everyone being here today.

You know, I'm happy that Seattle Center's been added to this committee, because it offers this opportunity to have this forum, this opportunity to talk about where we're going as a city, and I think it's fantastic.

I've been engaged from the beginning in terms of coming from community, Starting with CPA, with the Climate Pleasure Arena, this is not just an arena.

This is part of the center of Seattle Center.

It is part of the community center.

It is part of Uptown, Queen Anne, Belltown, South Lake Union.

It is a community asset.

in addition to being a Seattle asset.

It is something that's been embraced and it's something that's been really understood to be, you know, that next level.

And this goes in, coming back to transportation, innovative, you know, new life into the monorail.

Just think about what we've done in terms of the entire ecosystem.

in terms of the businesses, but the transportation systems and what we're going to be doing in the future.

And a lot of this centers on what we've done with the arena.

And I watched the construction from the very beginning.

I watched the roof.

It was an engineering marvel, by the way, to see the roof and then nothing underneath it.

And it's just incredible.

And I will say later, I have been through every inch of that arena, and it is fantastic.

And it's been a great home to the Storm.

The advantage of being the District 7 representative is to get to know the Storm.

It also helps having a 10-year-old daughter and my wife and myself, who are great fans, with Jeannie Gilder and Lisa Brumwell and the rest of the ownership group of the Storm.

But to be there for college basketball, we're in the middle of March Madness.

With UConn taking out Duke, incredible.

But I was there with my family seeing Caitlin Clark in the 23 March Madness, the women's tournament.

This is what this arena offers us as a city to bring us here.

The Kraken, so many memories at the Kraken too, including being there at a big game and watching the goal turning around and high-fiving some incredible people there at the arena.

in the excitement of the game.

It was fantastic.

But even recently, again with my wife and daughter, being at the opening game of the Torrent with the drapes open.

I mean, this is unique.

You don't see this around the country.

That was unbelievably beautiful to see that, and the game was incredible.

Again, maxed out.

At the time, the biggest attendance of any women's professional hockey ever.

You know, this is what, you know, the arena has done.

But I also want to give credit, too, with, well, initially the Oakfoot group, but One Roof Sports and Entertainment, but also the foundation.

And I think this is an important piece to show, it kind of goes to my initial point about the community, about engaging with the community.

Like, what the One Roof Foundation did with respect to Memorial Stadium and Memorial Wall, which is really dear to my heart.

You know, I was there at an event, you know, closing out, and...

One Roof Foundation was so key, providing that last third, that last piece of funding.

And at the event, by the way, I thanked Amazon for their support, because they gave that last $2 million to get it over the goal.

And it was incredible, because it is now transforming that side of Seattle Center.

And the linkages in terms of what we can do between the various parts of Seattle Center is incredible.

And that's a testament to commitment to community.

And so I want to thank One Roof Sports Entertainment in addition to Foundation as well.

And it's led by Sam Holloway.

Talk about being engaged in community.

She's been to my office.

I've seen her in community at the arena, even at a girls' summer soccer camp drop-off, which really shows that she is here in Seattle and engaged.

And I think that is super important.

And I thank her for all her support that she's done in terms of getting us to where we are today.

I think it's super important.

But just to close, Chair, you know, again, as I noted earlier, I've been through every inch of that arena.

You know, the cool little pieces, you know, the attention to detail, all these different pieces are incredible.

Again, watch it being built.

That was just fascinating.

And watching that engagement with community and the little things like the tunnel underneath to come back on the other side.

in terms of facilitating the logistics of the arena and the engagement of the community on that.

I've seen the sports, I've seen concerts there.

Incredible to see Peter Gabriel.

It was unbelievable.

Or New Era and Pet Shop Boys at another time and these different things.

But what's key about this arena, of all the different attributes, is it is NBA ready.

and it shows that the arena, the entire area, the city that we are, can I say it?

Sonics ready, Chair.

So thank you for everyone for coming.

I'm not gonna have any questions because I can't outmatch my chair, but I did want to make those points and thank everyone for coming and participating in this committee meeting this morning.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Kettle.

Shout out to Sam Holloway.

My office has been closely engaged in partnering with her, true leader in this space, and done a lot of great work to better position our city and our arena for the Sonics' return.

And also shout out to another governing partner and friend of the city and friend of my office as chair of this committee, Amazon.

done great work in our community as well and support our readiness and success every day.

Everyone had their hand up.

We had some minor technical issues with Vice Chair Rink earlier.

We're gonna return to her, see if that has been resolved.

Vice Chair, floor is yours if you're able to.

I cannot hear you, unfortunately, right now, so we'll try again after our other two colleagues have had the opportunity to speak, starting first with Councilmember Foster.

The floor is yours.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Chair.

Can you hear me?

Thank you so much, Sharon.

Thank you so much to our presenters.

This is really, really exciting.

I also don't have a question, but I can't resist the opportunity to make a comment and just say this is tremendously exciting.

Seattle is many, many things, but we are absolutely a sports town.

I myself am a season ticket holder to the Storm, and I got to be there when we hung up Sue Bird's jersey in the rafters.

I see you smiling.

I think a lot of folks were there that day, and it was just incredible.

and I've gotten to be at community events where there's Seahawks players who've shown up and watch young kids' faces just absolutely light up around that engagement and see the impact that it has for both bringing people together and giving our young people something to just dream about and participate in and feel connected to.

I also unfortunately had the opportunity to speak at an event before a Seahawks player, and I've never been more disinteresting in my life.

People were just like, we're ready, we're ready.

And so I think about those experiences and I'm like, wow, I wanna have all of those with our men's professional basketball team as well.

And I want to thank the great folks at Climate Pledge.

I recently got to do a tour of the facility and see the locker room that's waiting there for our men's team to come back.

And I think there's just no greater testament to absolutely how ready we are as a city.

The one thing I would add, oh, maybe I've stumbled my way into a question here.

The other fantastic benefit I think we have from our sports teams is the practice facilities.

And the Kraken practice facility at Northgate has just been this fantastic part of revitalization and investment.

We've got the Seahawks, I think, practicing in Renton.

The Storm are a little further up north.

But it's my understanding that if slash when we get to welcome back a team, we'd be building a practice facility right here in Seattle.

Is that right?

Yes, that is correct.

That's part of the lease terms that we negotiated with the facility, yes.

I just have to say that would be so exciting.

And I can imagine how active that would be and what a location that would be, not just for the team, but for the community.

So just one other part of what is so exciting about this opportunity.

Just to add on to that, I think you're absolutely right, Councilmember Foster, that And Spencer Hall has talked a bit about it as, from a player standpoint, as part of their recruitment, that level of infrastructure.

But also, I think teams have become more sophisticated.

I think the Kraken in particular have led the way in saying, these are not just practice facilities, but they're community gathering spaces.

And so I think that type of intentionality is critical.

in a time where we want to be with community, having more community gathering spaces that are accessible, we're all for it.

Thank you, Councilmember Foster, and I'll just note, as the Councilmember who chairs the committee that oversees the Seattle Center, which includes Climate Pride's arena, as the Councilmember who represents five vibrant neighborhoods in the southwest portion of the city of Seattle, including Soto and the stadium districts and all the sports teams down there, and as an unapologetic Seattle sports fan and dad of three, all of my kids are in youth sports, I'll just share.

I am strongly advocating is absolutely true.

Deputy mayor that we we will Have under the terms of the agreement.

A practice facility somewhere in the city of Seattle.

I'm just going to share right now.

I'm advocating and I'm fighting for that new facility to be built in West Seattle, Seattle's largest neighborhood by geography and population, land mass as well.

So why not us?

In any event, thank you.

Let's see Councilmember Lin, floor is yours.

Thank you, Chair.

What a fun morning.

Thank you to everybody on the panel and to really all the fans, everyone who has been working so hard to hopefully bring back the Sonics in the near future.

Just a little bit of my personal relationship story.

I grew up in Durham, North Carolina.

one of the strongest areas of basketball history with Duke and UNC and just incredible coaches and players including you know one of the obviously Michael Jordan and also my my family My grandma is from Wilberham Mass, right outside of Springfield Mass, the birth of basketball.

She worked at Springfield College, where, again, basketball was started as a way to, you know, Springfield Mass has cold winters like we do here, and wanted to, there was a PE teacher that wanted to, you know, develop an activity for youth during the winter, which is understandable.

And we've seen just the incredible growth of basketball become a worldwide phenomenon.

And I think just a few comments here, no questions, but it's clear we are so ready and poised Obviously, Climate Pledge, just shout out to all the hard work that made that such an incredible facility for sports, for other arts.

Anybody that has been there understands what an incredible facility that is.

And, you know, well-named for the future, you know, being such a green facility leading the way there.

Obviously, it's so important.

Also, it is crystal clear that our fan base, our sports just writ large is second to none.

I would put up our fan base here to anywhere else in the country, really anywhere else in the world.

And I think it's clear how complementary that ecosystem that we were hearing about, how complementary it is between men and women's sports, between all these different, you know, you think that these sports might compete with each other, but that's not true, they complement each other.

and I think both with the fans, but also with the athletes, where people, the civic pride, and it's not just obviously Seattle, it is region-wide, it is statewide, that the civic pride builds and complements each other.

I also just want to point out that I think Seattle is super well positioned.

I mean, again, we see basketball as a worldwide phenomenon.

I had the pleasure to study abroad in China in 2000. and to see the love for basketball in China.

We know that the love for basketball in the Philippines is incredibly strong.

Seattle, one, obviously we have a very strong NHPI communities here, but we also are a gateway from the Pacific Northwest to Asia and have these incredibly strong connections.

It is just another reason why I think we are so well suited.

And finally, just the youth basketball, the love for basketball continues to be strong with our youth.

Super honored to represent Southeast Seattle, which has some very storied basketball legends within our high school programs.

right now, state champions.

They've had an incredible run.

And just want to you know, speak it into possibility that it would be incredible to see some of our Seattle youth wearing the Sonics jerseys in the near future.

So again, thank you all to everyone who has put in countless hours.

The love is real, the pride is real, and let's make it happen.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Lin, well said.

And I was connecting with Councilmember, or Vice Chair Rink offline, and she shared, by the way, we're working with our IT team, hopefully resolve the audio issues soon, but she indicated that she didn't have any questions or comments, just really expressing our gratitude and appreciation for all you all for being here today.

So on behalf of our Vice Chair, thank you.

I'm gonna close this out with some quick fun, hopefully playful, rapid-fire questions.

Very short answer, very short.

Emphasis on short, says the guy who gave the 10-minute chairs remark.

But quick, rapid-fire response.

First question.

Everyone, we're just going to go down the line.

If the league ends up approving a new NBA expansion franchise in Seattle, my understanding is that The final decision of whether to even use the Sonics' name, logo, brand, colors would essentially be for the new ownership group and under an operating agreement with their partners and other owners.

All that aside, just from your perspective, what's your preferred color for a new NBA franchise in Seattle?

Deputy Mayor, color or colors?

Why mess with the brilliance that we have right now?

So, don't change.

Not a damn thing.

Love it.

Green and gold, baby.

Green and gold forever.

Green and gold.

Same, green and gold.

Green and gold.

Green and gold.

I defer to the fans.

Obviously, partial to green and gold, but make no mistake, the unofficial colors of our city are green and blue.

So if we restore the branding, my hope personally would be at least there's an alternative uniform that reflects that green and brilliant blue identity of our city and our sports kind of heritage here.

Next question.

What will the headline read the day the Sonics finally do return?

What will the headline read the day the Sonics finally do return.

And I'm gonna start on the other end.

It's about time.

About time, yes.

Miss Knox.

Legacy restored.

Ooh.

We're back.

Yes.

We did it.

Joy.

Home.

Home.

Let's go.

Finally, Let's make this real for just a moment.

Panelists, colleagues actually, anyone in the audience.

Who's ready, by show of hands, who's ready to bring back our Sonics?

Show of hands in the audience.

Everyone, everyone.

Our clerk is not ready, apparently.

Brendan?

Oh, okay, okay, okay.

Yes.

Everyone, unanimity.

Rare in Seattle politics.

Unanimity.

Even Joel.

Sports unify.

Yes.

Let's go.

Let's bring our Sonics back.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, everyone, for being here today.

We're going to now move on to our second item of business, which good news is...

I don't expect to go nearly as long, and so I think we could keep this moving in fairly short order.

Thank you again, but we will now move on to our second item of business.

Will the clerk please read item two into the record?

Agenda item two, a resolution affirming the City of Seattle's readiness for a National Basketball Association team, declaring the Climate Pledge Arena is ready for an NBA team, and affirming Seattle is a basketball city.

All right, thank you.

Will our newest, we have a returning presenter, Deputy Mayor, welcome again.

And will our newest presenter join us at the table?

Once ready, please introduce or reintroduce yourselves and begin your presentation.

Good morning, Lishwitz and Council Central staff.

Good morning, Brian Stratton, Deputy Mayor.

All right.

So Lish and I played a bit of a jump ball last night and get to figure out who gets to introduce the joint resolution.

And I think I won.

Did I win?

Okay.

All right.

So Chair Saka, members of the steps committee, thanks again for this opportunity to introduce a joint resolution from the mayor and council affirming something that people across Seattle already know.

We are ready for the return of the NBA and ready to welcome the Sonics home.

This resolution is grounded in both history and preparation.

Seattle has always been a basketball city, from the legacy of the Sonics to the strength of our youth and grassroots programs, and to the continued success of the Seattle Storm, which has kept this city on the forefront of professional basketball.

But this is also about readiness.

Through a competitive process, we developed Climate Pledge Arena into a world-class, privately financed venue designed for NBA play.

It is operationally proven, supported by a skilled union workforce, and backed by lease terms that anticipate an NBA team.

At a moment when the National Basketball Association Board of Governors is considering expansion, This joint mayor and council resolution sends a clear and unified message.

Seattle is prepared, Seattle is aligned, and Seattle is ready.

I look forward to your consideration and partnership in advancing this shared effort.

Thank you.

Well said, Deputy Mayor.

Thank you.

And Mr. Woodson, go ahead.

Yeah.

So this is a resolution that declares the city's interest and readiness to partner with the NBA and regional and local partners to bring a professional basketball team back to the city.

Thank you.

And I think the the legislation content is straightforward, but I'll just chime in from my perspective as the prime sponsor on this floor, and the person who introduced this legislation on this floor.

Seattle's ready.

It's past time.

And no one or nothing is owed anything in life.

But we are ready.

And we are a basketball city, We are a global city and a leading city in so many material respects.

And that's what this resolution makes crystal clear.

And so I appreciate the partnership of Mayor Wilson, Deputy Mayor in her office, Surat, and so many others in their collaboration and partnership.

As Deputy Bear noted, we are truly unified in our approach And this is part of an intentional, principled approach and unified strategy to bring our Sonics back.

And there's more to come, by the way.

But we're demonstrating through policy that Seattle is ready.

So this moment, I will welcome any questions, comments from my colleagues, if any, before we move on to the vote.

Starting first, if to the extent the technical issues have been resolved with Vice Chair Rank.

All right, let's go to Council Member Lin.

Thank you, Chair.

And again, just what a fun morning.

Just also want to say thank you to the NBA Board of Governors for voting unanimously to explore expansion and just want to provide our assurances that, you know, we're going to do everything we can to make this happen.

So thank you.

Excellent point.

Well said.

We are and friendly amendment to that is we are We will do everything in our power, and we are doing that.

This is one method of that.

Any other comments?

Councilmember Kettle.

Thank you, Chair.

I just wanted to second Councilmember Lynn's point about thanking the NBA Board of Governors, the NBA community overall, because it is a community and I appreciate their engagement with Seattle and all its different forms.

And so, yes, let's work and let's work together.

Yes.

And we're excited for and grateful for the vote from the NBA Board of Governors and their and the implicit and explicit vote of confidence in the Seattle market in returning a team back.

It would be mutually beneficial.

I think they would be lucky to have us, and we would be lucky to welcome them back.

So, awesome.

There's no final, oh, Councilmember Rink, Vice Chair Rink.

Go ahead, floor is yours.

Please, audio work this time.

No.

I see you trying from your audio, your mobile device.

Can you press star six to unmute?

at ease for just a moment.

Still can't hear her.

So apologies, Vice Chair.

We have a lot of people working hard on this and I want you to know that.

Can we at least get a thumbs up that you're prepared to vote regardless?

Okay.

Okay.

Thank you.

All right.

hearing no further questions, comments from my colleagues, I move that the committee recommend passage of resolution 32198. Is there a second?

Second.

Second.

Second.

And I imagine if we had, that was everyone chiming in.

I imagine if we had audio working from vice chair, she would have jumped in and chimed in with a second as well.

So, unanimity here.

It is moved and seconded to recommend passage of resolution 32198. Are there any final comments?

Hearing and seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the recommendation to pass resolution 32198.

Councilmember Foster?

Yes.

Councilmember Kettle?

Aye.

Councilmember Lin?

Yes.

Vice Chair Rink?

Two thumbs up.

Chair Saka?

Aye.

Chair, there are five votes in favor and zero opposed.

I note there was a Visually enthusiastic, two thumbs up from vice chair, signifying her strong support for this.

Excellent, thank you.

The motion carries and the committee recommendation that the council pass resolution 32198 will be sent to the April 7th, 2026 city council meeting.

Thank you.

Folks, today we aligned, we acted, now we advance.

But I want to make clear again that today's Seattle Readiness Roundtable and our Seattle Ready legislation are not a one-off event or initiative.

They're part of a broader, intentional, and coordinated strategy to bring back our Sonics.

Let's go!

Thank you again, Deputy Mayor Wilson, for your partnership and collaboration.

And thank you, Mr. Woodson.

We will now move on to our third item of business.

Will the clerk please read item three into the record?

Agenda item three, update on First South bridge repairs.

Thank you.

Will our presenters please join us at the table?

Before we get started with our final agenda item, I'd like to take a moment to note that bridges, and remind everyone, bridges are a critically important element of our local infrastructure.

Bridges facilitate travel, commerce, and emergency response.

Bridges are much more than structures.

They're economic lifelines.

As the council member representing West Seattle, I remember firsthand, quite vividly actually, the day the West Seattle Bridge closed in 2020. This caused massive, significant disruptions to daily life for the West Seattle community and beyond.

We experienced significantly longer commutes, increased traffic on alternative routes, neighborhoods still unpacking the damage of what happens when the single ingress-egress point, or at least the primary one, that holds that volume of traffic when traffic is deferred and rerouted through our neighborhoods and through our non-arterials that weren't specifically designed for that kind of traffic load.

So as you can imagine, bridges are very important to me in my office.

And although they don't have quite the appeal as the Sonics Again, in my view, they're equally glamorous.

Super important.

When the First Avenue Bridge closed on February 18th, we immediately started receiving calls, my office did, and emails from members of the South Park community and others who rely heavily on that bridge.

That is why I requested, and since then, I know our partners at WSDOT have been hard at work making repairs, developing a plan, an implementation approach.

to make this right as quickly as possible, which I really do appreciate.

Working closely with our partners at SDOT, WSDOT-owned and managed asset within the city of Seattle that connects to our city, city transportation network, hence the SDOT tie-in as well.

So that's why I requested this presentation from our partners at WSDOT.

Thank you in advance, and I'm eager to hear what you have to share today.

So panelists, please go ahead and introduce yourselves, and when you're ready, begin your presentations.

Sure, good morning, Chair Saka and fellow committee members.

I am Brian Nielsen, Regional Administrator for WSDOT's Northwest Region.

Thank you for the invitation to speak with you today about the emergency repair work on the northbound State Route 99, First Avenue South Bridge.

And I'm Bill Abord, representing the Seattle Department of Transportation.

I have the presentation on that.

You do have it.

The presentation's on that.

Transcend deep right there.

Right there.

Okay, my apologies.

Apologies needed, thank you.

For it to appear.

But a little work I had to do first, so I think we're all set now.

So again, thank you for the opportunity to provide some information about the repair work we need to do on the First Avenue South Bridge.

I'm gonna start the presentation with some background history about the northbound span.

We'll discuss our efforts to maintain and preserve this bridge over the last three decades, and then explain both the emergency work that was completed last month and the bridge deck repairs that we will start later this month.

I'll also talk specifically about the communications and outreach efforts we plan ahead of this upcoming repair.

The State Route 509 and 99 corridor connects cities in southern King County with Seattle and points north.

As a primary alternate to Interstate 5, it's a busy commuter route and a freight corridor for vehicles bound for the Port of Seattle and beyond.

This is a double-leaf bascule bridge that opens to allow maritime traffic to pass along the Duwamish River.

And double-leaf bascule bridge is a term maybe not all are familiar with.

Simply, the bridge is, the main span of the bridge is broken into two leaves.

Those leaves are founded on the shores, with a hinge, and they connect in the middle, and so when a boat needs to pass through the span, the bridge is, the leaves open towards shore and open up that main channel.

The bridge also is a bicycle and pedestrian link between Seattle's Georgetown and South Park neighborhoods, an important transportation corridor.

This is a heavily traveled bridge, and it's showing its age, despite consistent maintenance over the years to keep it operational.

We last replaced this bridge deck in 1999 with the expectation that the steel grid panels would last 20 to 25 years.

We are now past that expected lifespan for the deck.

Emergency work this spring should allow us to safely operate the bridge at full capacity until next construction season in 2027, when we will replace the entire bridge deck on the northbound bridge.

We will, of course, share details on that project as we get closer to the construction.

A little more about the repairs.

In late February, washed-out bridge inspectors identified failures on the steel grates on the northbound bridge.

We closed two lanes across the bridge and developed a three-phase repair strategy.

Phase one repairs were completed during a five-day northbound bridge closure from March 9th to 13th.

Washed-out maintenance crews installed steel plates across failed deck sections and welded more than 100 cracked grid members, allowing all lanes to safely reopen to traffic, albeit with a reduced speed limit.

Phase 2 repairs are tentatively scheduled to begin later this month.

In this phase, we will remove and replace 10 deck panels that were temporarily repaired in March.

And as I mentioned before, we're planning for a full replacement of the bridge deck, which we expect to begin as soon as next year.

Photos on this slide highlight some of the structural failures our inspectors identified in February, and the temporary fixes our crews made during the emergency repairs last month.

Each of the fractured panels that are now covered with steel plates will be replaced as part of emergency work starting later this month.

Turning toward these phase two repairs, at this time, we do not have a detailed construction schedule to share.

Factoring in the procurement time for the replacement panels and normal mobilization time for our contractor, we expect construction to begin as soon as the end of this month and last about a month.

We are planning on multiple northbound lane closures across the bridge each the week before and the week following construction to set up and remove scaffolding.

Once construction begins, we expect to use a combination of week-end and week-night full closures on the northbound bridge to complete the work.

Our hope is that the Phase II repair can be completed over weekends in late April and May, with weeknight full closures in between.

There are many factors influencing the schedule for these Phase II repairs, including World Cup matches in Lumen Field starting in mid-June.

We aim to begin construction as soon as the bridge panels arrive and ensure to ensure we can finish well before the first match, which is on June 15th.

We need our highway network in full capacity once World Cup arrives, as we are going to be accommodating hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Seattle area.

We're planning weekend and overnight closures after listening to the concerns of the South Park neighbors about traffic along the detour during the phase one.

Structuring these repairs outside of heavy commuting hours should reduce the number of vehicles using the detour route.

Weekend closures give crews more time during daylight hours and reduces the number of expected bridge openings needed for maritime traffic, which happens more frequently on weekdays.

I want to be clear where we are in the planning process.

We haven't hired a contractor yet.

We're in discussions with a couple of contractors, working to determine who is best resourced to perform this work once we select a contract contractor, we will award the contract, and then we will go into very deliberate scenario planning with the contractor.

You know, there's three different ways to approach this that we want to work through.

There's doing the panel replacements with overnight closures, doing the replacement with our typical weekend closures.

We call them 55 weekends.

They start Friday night after the commute hours and open by Monday morning commute.

We also will explore with the contractor what we're referring to as extended weekend closures, so starting Thursday night and going through Monday.

Our goal is to identify a strategy that really balances the speed of construction with the impact to the community and commuters.

And again, we want to get the contractor on board so that we can talk specifically about you know, the resources they have available and how they can most efficiently deliver the work so we minimize the total number of closures.

Next slide.

This map shows the detour route that will be used for the phase two repairs starting later this month.

Again, this is the same detour that was in place for the phase one repairs in March.

The big difference is we don't plan to do the closures during those busiest weekdays, Tuesday, Wednesdays, and Thursdays especially, and perhaps not weekdays at all.

This map is something we'll share directly with our media partners, first responders, freight community, and neighborhood groups.

We also will post widely on our social media accounts to build public awareness.

When the public is aware of a major closure like this one, they will frequently respond by taking alternate routes and avoid the detours.

Communication is always a challenge with emergency work, because by its nature, it's not something that we have planned for.

The Phase II emergency bridge repairs are something of an exception in this case, though.

We are planning an intensive campaign to inform commuters, freight haulers, port partners, mariners, transit operators, and the South Park residents about this emergency construction.

We will focus on sharing what people who live, work, and commute in this area can expect before, during, and after construction.

We know this type of work is disruptive, particularly for people who live nearby, but these are necessary repairs that have ripple effects throughout our region highway network.

Our goal for this project and for all our projects is to complete this work as quickly, safely, and efficiently as possible and to keep communities and partners informed at every stage of the process.

And I just wanna highlight again, in this case, efficiency really means that balance between speed of construction against and with the impacts to the local communities and commuters.

So we're not going to choose the most impactful approach.

We're not gonna choose the fastest approach.

We're looking for that balance that strikes fairness and equity in them.

There are just a few...

switch slide.

These are just a few of the ways we keep the public informed, from our social media to smartphone apps to email newsletters.

We hope you are familiar with at least some of these tools, but if not, this slide shows how you can access each of them.

And finally, contact information for myself and our communications lead supporting the Phase II emergency repairs on the First Avenue South Bridge.

Feel free to reach out any time.

And thank you again, Chair Saka and council members, for the opportunity to come before you today.

And with that, I will turn the floor over to you for any questions.

Thank you so much, Mr. Nielsen, for your presentation and the update on the status of the work and these important efforts.

I note that we have a hard stop.

We'll probably lose quorum by 11.30, but good news is I intend to be done by then.

And so at this moment, I'll turn it over to my colleagues for any questions or comments from your perspective.

We'll try again.

with Councilmember Rank, if you have any.

None, thank you.

Moving on to another unapologetic fan and champion and supporter of our bridges and bridge network, Councilmember Kettle.

Floor is yours.

Thank you, Chair Saka.

Mr. Nielsen, thank you for being here.

Really important to get this update.

And also thank you to Mr. Laborde from SDOT for being here as well.

This is another lesson where we have...

Maintenance is so important.

You know, and then we have the timelines and, you know, it's never a good time, but pushing it down, you know, in the pandemic and the West Seattle bridge, there's different things that play into this, but as a general rule, you know, we have to do the maintenance.

So I support this effort as painful as it may be, um, because it has to be done.

And, um, and obviously it's kind of like the ship canal bridge project, very similar, uh, you know, has to be done even though it's painful.

And I appreciate carving out a space just like the Ship Canal project for the FIFA World Cup time period, because that's obviously a very unique circumstance.

And so I think it's important, and I think it's important to do so.

I would note, Chair, too, that it's not just local communities anymore.

And given 99 is a washed-out responsibility from District 7, My constituents jump on 99 just basically right there at the Aurora Bridge and jump through the tunnel.

Next thing you know, they're at that bridge on their way to the airport or on their way to a soccer game or all these different sports that we've talked about, Chair.

And so the community, a lot of times, is much broader than one thinks.

And I just wanted to highlight that.

And that's basically a consequence of...

of the tunnel, which has been fantastic, but it changed patterns, which is one reason why, in terms of what we're doing in communities with our district fund, We're making these adjustments because travel patterns change, you know, viaduct to the tunnel.

There's differences.

And the tunnel's been so great that it really facilitates this movement.

So I just wanted to highlight that in terms of the impact, and recognizing it's more so for the local community.

But I do wanted to highlight that, you know, this is a broader impact.

And so no questions, you pretty much addressed all the different pieces.

So again, thank you for being here.

Great.

Thank you for the comments.

Thank you, Councilmember Kettle.

Any other comments from colleagues?

Hearing and seeing none, I'll just close out by also extending my gratitude and sincere appreciation for you again, Mr. Nielsen, Mr. Laborde from the SDOT side for being here today, sharing out this very important update.

And I also appreciate the commitment to developing and implementing a thoughtful, deliberative, methodical approach to do this work, right?

Also doing it, and also appreciate hearing WSDOT's commitment to do it quickly, safely, and efficiently.

And I heard equity mentioned and specifically called out as a important factor.

So to the extent, which makes a lot of sense in our own SDOT, under our sale transportation plan that we approved a couple of years ago, equity is a significant factor and that guides our work at all times.

So to the extent equity is a factor in your analysis, I would just remind that, There are scant, better neighborhoods, more deserving candidates from a neighborhood perspective across the city of Seattle, then South Park, and the community where this runs through and serves every day and people that are impacted.

So I know I'm sure WSDOT is very similar to our own SDOT in terms of adopting a very data-based approach to guide your decision making, but A plus in that factor from an equity perspective.

So let's go get this.

We'll stay tuned.

Hopeful that we'll be able to stick to that early June 26 tentative project completion.

If it happens to slip, You know, materially later than that, we'll probably invite you all back later this summer to check in, just because this is such an important and consequential project for my district.

Freight and cargo mobility across our region and connecting people with opportunities.

So thank you again for your partnership and your work in getting this done.

Huge shout out to our bridges.

Maintenance, super important.

All right, thank you.

We have reached the end of today's meeting.

Our next meeting will be held on April 16th, 2026 at 9.30 a.m.

Is there any final business to come before the committee before we adjourn?

Hearing and seeing no further business, we are adjourned.

It is 11.26 a.m.

Thank you.