Rep. Judy Clibborn Voices Opposition to SODO Arena Proposal

Washington State 41st District Representative (D-Mercer Island) and chair of the House Transportation Committee has along with a bipartisan group of transportation leaders in the Washington Legislature opposing the proposed Sodo arena.

"The arena itself is not the most troubling," Clibborn said by phone on Monday afternoon. "It's where it is and it's impact to its surrounding land uses that are important to the state."

According to the Seattle Times, Clibborn along with Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee; Rep. Mike Armstrong, R-Wenatchee, the ranking minority member of the House Transportation Committee; and Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, the ranking minority member of the Senate Transportation Committee say the Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma must be operating at a high level to compete with other regions of the country for business and to export Eastern Washington agriculture.

“A healthy and functioning Port of Seattle is absolutely crucial to the state’s economic well-being and we can support nothing that in any way further impedes operations at the Port of Seattle.”The leaders said they couldn’t support an arena in Sodo “if there is even the slightest risk to our trade-based economy.”

Rep Clibborn's office sent a copy of the letter to Renton Patch on Monday, the same day the Metroplitan King County Council took public comment on the proposed new multi-purpose sports and entertainment facility in the SODO district.

A vote of the King County Council is currently underway. Chris Hansen's spokesperson Peter McCollum says both councils (King County and the city of Seattle) must vote yes to move the project forward.

No date has been set for when the city of Seattle is set to vote on the proposed $490 million arena in the SODO neighborhood.