Kent officials lose patience with Amiga

Kent officials say time is running out for tech company Amiga to come through with the $2.5 million promised down payment for naming rights to the city's planned hockey arena.

City leaders have given Amiga until Monday, when arena construction will start, to deliver the down payment on the $10 million, 20-year naming-rights deal.

If the company doesn't come through, Kent will look for another sponsor, said John Hodgson, Kent's chief administrative officer.

When the naming-rights deal was announced in April, Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke spoke glowingly of Amiga's plans to bring hundreds of jobs to Kent and make The Amiga Center at Kent the most technologically advanced arena of its size in the nation.

But after The Seattle Times reported in May on Amiga's history of failed business ventures and unpaid debts, city officials increased pressure on Amiga to deliver on its naming-rights down payment early as a gesture of good faith.

That deal still has not been completed, in part because Amiga is now offering less money than specified in the initial agreement, said Hodgson, who would not give details.

"It's unacceptable," Hodgson said.

Amiga's acting president, Bill McEwen, did not return phone calls or an e-mail requesting comment this week.

In an earlier interview, he acknowledged the company's past woes, including lawsuits, changes of ownership and unpaid debts. But he said the company has new investors and big plans for the future, including the release of new software and wireless products.

Hodgson said he believes Amiga is sincere in its pursuit of the naming-rights deal. But he said the city wants assurances that the deal is final before Thursday, when the Kent City Council is scheduled to vote to formally approve the arena project. The absolute deadline, he said, is Monday, when construction will begin.

The $67 million arena, expected to be completed next year, will be the new home for the Seattle Thunderbirds minor-league hockey team, which currently plays at KeyArena in Seattle. Amiga has been a sponsor of the Thunderbirds and team officials suggested the company as the naming-rights sponsor.

Colin Campbell, vice president and assistant general manager of the Thunderbirds, said "the city is frustrated, and we are as well" with the Amiga negotiations. But he said there are legitimate disputes about contract details such as whether Amiga can prohibit other tech companies from advertising inside the arena.

"I do believe Amiga wants to do the deal. We're close, but we're not there yet," Campbell said.

Kent plans to pay most of the 6,000-seat arena's construction cost by issuing bonds that would be paid back with arena revenues. The Legislature this year agreed to divert some sales taxes collected in the city to cover a third of the cost.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com