Seattle Voters To Decide Fate Of KeyArena

The Seattle City Council has voted to allow an initiative on November’s ballot that lets voters have a say in the money the Sonics want to renovate Seattle’s KeyArena, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

Initiative 91 requires that any arena agreement made must guarantee that taxpayers will make a profit on their investment.

Getting I-91 on the ballot is a victory for those opposing taxpayer subsidized sports arenas.

The group Citizens for More Important Things is behind the initiative and said they hope taxpayers will send a message to the new owners.

"It draws a line in the sand and says though shalt not give away the city's goods," said Chris Van Dyk of the group.

The group gathered nearly 18,000 signatures to have the initiative place on the ballot.

The new owners of the Seattle Sonics and Storm teams want $220 million to renovate the aging arena and said the initiative won’t impact their plans to try to negotiate a deal to keep the teams in the area.

Citizens for More Important Things want the owners to foot a big portion of the bill.

According to the Seattle Times, if the measure passes and a deal is made that conflicts with I-91, it could result in a lawsuit.