First of two parts | Next week: Is there the political will – and the money – to make an arena happen?

For Adam Brown and Jason Reid, the pain of losing the Seattle Supersonics remains fresh.

As documentarians of the movement to keep the team in town when Clay Bennett moved the franchise to Oklahoma City, they had a front row seat for the political hand wringing, litigation and fan heartbreak that accompanied the team’s departure in 2008.

“There was so much toxic energy around the way the team left and people were burned out and apathetic,” said Brown, producer of the award-winning documentary “Sonicsgate.”

To many, the best way to move on was to forget. Local newspapers backed off NBA coverage, and the league is rarely mentioned on sports radio without a scoff that “nobody cares.”

But little by little, the feeling has begun to fade. With teams facing extensive financial hardship, and a fundamental restructuring of the NBA model, hoop hope is beginning to return. But any discussions about bringing back the Sonics – the franchise moved to Oklahoma, but the green and gold stayed behind – first begins with an arena. Pundits have thrown out numerous possibilities for a new venue, and a consistent question has arisen. Would the Seattle Supersonics be better off calling a new arena in Bellevue home?

Sonics fans still feel the pain of losing their team in 2008. JOSH TRUJILLO, SeattlePI.com

Rumors have swirled around Chicago businessman Don Levin’s desire to put an arena on the Eastside, and State Rep.Mike Hope (R-Lake Stevens) may introduce legislation to raise a portion of the money needed through an income tax on visiting players, but no concrete plan has emerged.

A new venue in Bellevue could catapult it closer to the goal of becoming a “world-class city.” With extensive planned transportation improvements and several potential locations, Bellevue may overcome the two biggest deterrents to a major venue – traffic and space. But developers and economists question whether an arena is even a good move for Bellevue. The only sure thing in this discussion is that Bellevue and state taxpayers won’t be footing the bill.

World-class city

Bellevue is the capital of the Eastside, and a stone’s throw from downtown Seattle.

Bellevue’s proximity to Seattle and the rest of the Eastside, coupled with its sterling workforce and planned transportation projects, make the city a natural contender for a large venue such as an NBA arena.

“Bellevue could make a great location for an NBA team,” Brown said. “If you’re going to build new a state-of-the-art arena, it goes along with all the things Bellevue has been doing for the last few years and their massive growth.”

Bellevue features empty spaces near downtown and plans for East Link light-rail tracks that could eventually move people from as far north as Lynnwood to as far south as Federal Way into the city.

The two most likely spots for a new arena are the somewhat vacated Auto Row on 116th Avenue on the south side of Interstate 405 or the abandoned Safeway distribution site on Bel-Red Road, known as the Spring District. Both of these sites, however, are up for extensive redevelopment by their respective owners – KG Investments and Wright Runstead – and could become unavailable.

However, if an arena were to come in the next few years, the traffic and transportation improvements may not be complete.

Greg Johnson, president of Wright Runstead, said he has not been approached about a potential arena development, and it isn’t a factor in the current planning of the 36-acre, mixed-use Spring District development.

“At this point [an arena’s] not even an option for us, and we’re not in the mode of developing one for ourselves,” he said.

Bob Wallace, President of Wallace properties, said it would be easier to get people to and from games with an arena close to downtown and the freeways.

Attendance likely wouldn’t be a problem. Bellevue’s population of approximately 123,000 could prove a bit worrisome, but according to the state’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, 97,000 of the 130,908 estimated workers in Bellevue commute from outside the city limits, adding another segment of population who already have ties to the city. Bellevue is a part of the nation’s 15th largest metropolitan area, which is the second largest region without an NHL or NBA team, according to census figures.

Eastsiders were Sonics fans

Eastsiders were already big buyers for the Sonics, representing 26 percent of season-ticket holders and 19 percent of all attendees, according to records.

If traffic improvements make Bellevue a viable arena location, proponents say the new venue could have transformational effects on the city known for its ascension to the top of the employment world in Washington.

And while many have gossiped about Bellevue as an NBA arena destination, former Bellevue Planning Director Matt Terry was in the middle of a city effort to put together a stadium proposal in 2006.

As one of the key figures of Bellevue’s expansion to a growing city, Terry saw an opportunity with a new arena.

“It would create an entertainment destination unlike anything that exists in Bellevue,” he said. “We imagined a younger, more hip kind of district.”

Former Bellevue Planning Director Matt Terry was in the center of discussions to bring an arena to Bellevue to keep the team in town. CHAD COLEMAN, File Photo

This site would resemble the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which is flanked with first-class restaurants, hotels, a 10,000-seat theater and even an arts museum.

Proponents of a Bellevue arena see it as a new way to bring people to town, have them shop at local stores, and eat at nearby restaurants.

It would give Bellevue another signature element in addition to its downtown, which in the eyes of some has eclipsed Seattle’s.

“It’s a powerful thing when you unleash this kind of development activity,” Terry said. “It tends to drive up land values, and it encourages the kind of land development that couldn’t occur before.”

Would arena spur development?

The creation of a pro sports arena is seen as a recognition of a major economic success and development, not an impetus for it.

Economists question whether an arena would bring new development to the area. Victor Matheson, professor of sports economics at Holy Cross University, said economists have failed to find a way to measure economic benefits of stadiums. Unless the owner is a local mainstay, there is often little motivation to make the venue interface with the city to help other nearby businesses, he said.

In this case an owner, or group of owners, would have to build an arena, and buy a team – or two – no small financial feat. Owners would do better if they were able to keep patrons inside to buy their beer and food rather than going to the restaurant across the street.

“Arenas serve as a walled fortress with parking all around it, and they tend to restrict economic development,” Matheson said. “Your goal is to have people buy as many overpriced food items as possible rather than let the economic development leak outside those walls.”

Even if patrons stay within the fortress, portions of their sales tax dollars will go back into the community.

Nonetheless, the planners and developers fear that a poorly conceived arena will lead to more congestion with cars jetting in and out of town without a second look at Bellevue’s restaurants and stores.

Matheson said Los Angeles’ old Forum suffered from this problem before the Staples Center was built. When the Lakers began playing their games in downtown Los Angeles, sales tax revenue in the suburb of Inglewood, where the old arena was located, actually increased because patrons weren’t hindered by game traffic.

The arena would also take up valuable space in a community restricted by municipal and water borders on all sides. Terry, Bellevue’s former planning director, spoke of the tradeoffs such an arena would require, like the inability to locate a major university campus, health facility or new development in a prime location near downtown.

The question to the community then becomes whether an owner can build an arena, attract teams to the area, and give people a reason to stick around. To make this a feasible possibility, another pro team may need to be a part of the action.

The potential of a professional hockey team, in addition to an NBA team, and the possibility of hosting large conferences for local companies such as Microsoft, may be the arena’s greatest selling point. Hockey features 42 home games each year, and the possibility of conferences and headline acts could make the space palatable for a potential buyer.

“If you’re only going to use it for 40 days a year, it’s much harder to make it profitable and private people are less likely to want to make that investment,” Matheson said.

But Wallace, who sat on the board of Kingdome and SafeCo Field, has a different view of an arena. He sees it as not just a dollar-driver, but more of a statement, an amenity that grabs attention and makes Bellevue standout from the rest of the Eastside. Matheson too qualified the primary benefit as a quality of life issue rather than an economic one.

“Although the professional sports industry in the United States is roughly the same size as the cardboard box industry, cardboard boxes don’t warrant multiple channels on television, have a dedicated section in most newspapers, and are not the focus of frequent discussions around the office water cooler,” Matheson said.