Traffic impact of Seattle arena to be studied

SEATTLE – A venture capitalist who wants to build a sports arena to bring professional basketball back to Seattle will pay for a study to determine the impacts on traffic and parking following objections by his potential neighbor – the Seattle Mariners.

Without disclosing its price, Chris Hansen pledged Thursday to pay for the study, which he hopes will be concluded in between six to eight weeks by a private consultant.

“At the end of the day I am also a Seahawks, Sounders and Mariners fan. I think we all want a good solution for having games down in this area,” said Hansen, who was flanked by King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn.

Hansen has proposed a new arena that would cost between $450 and $500 million and would include $290 million in private investment.