Nickels wants Olympia's support before talking with Sonics

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels wants assurances from top Democrats in Olympia that they'll support a taxpayer-financed $220 million KeyArena expansion before the mayor sits down to negotiate with the Sonics in coming weeks.

In what amounts to passing — or at least sharing — a political hot potato, Nickels sent a letter dated April 21 to legislative leaders and Gov. Christine Gregoire, asking them to support a KeyArena deal.

"It would be inappropriate for us to negotiate a deal and presume to commit the state's budgetary authority, without first knowing that we have your full support," Nickels wrote in the letter to Gregoire, House Speaker Frank Chopp and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown.

Nickels said such a deal would require paying off city debt still remaining from a 1994 remodel of the Sonics' arena. It also would require a public vote and include money for arts groups.

Chopp, D-Seattle, said today that he had not yet seen the letter and was noncommittal on the issue.

"The city should figure out what it is proposing, and then we'll take a look at it," he said.

A spokeswoman for the Sonics could not immediately be reached for comment.

The letter is the latest in a round of political posturing surrounding the controversial KeyArena issue.

In a letter to Nickels and the City Council earlier this month, Gregoire said city officials need to come to an agreement before the Legislature can act. If not, Gregoire said, Seattle should cut the Sonics loose.

Last week, the Sonics said they wanted an arena deal with the city by the end of this month. The team offered to pay at least $18.3 million toward the $220 million arena expansion and to cover any cost overruns. In exchange, the Sonics want to receive all the profits from the arena. But some city officials scoffed at the Sonics offer.

The team wants a larger arena and a new lease to keep playing in Seattle after 2010, when the current lease expires.