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King County judge rejects union lawsuit aimed at undoing deal for new SoDo arena

SEATTLE — A King County judge rejected a lawsuit Friday made by the Longshore and Warehouse Union on the new arena in SoDo.

The union filed a lawsuit against the city of Seattle and King County, claiming they started too early in deciding on the SoDo location.

The union argued the city and county didn’t follow the proper review process and didn’t adequately consider other locations for the sports arena. They feared that they could lose thousands of maritime and industrial jobs at the Port of Seattle if the arena is built in SoDo.

People in support of the arena said the union suit is just stall tactics and is based more on economic fears than environmental concerns, as stated in the lawsuit.

Douglass heard arguments at 1:30 p.m. at the King County Courthouse.

Since Douglass sided with the city and county, the construction of the arena would start as soon as the environmental impact study is completed.

Mayor Mike McGinn issued a statement on the ruling:

"This is a big win in our work to bring the Sonics home to Seattle. We are continuing our efforts to follow the decision-making path laid out by the MOU.  At the end of that path are decisions by the City and County Councils, equipped with more information, on how to proceed with a proposed Arena. Part of that new information will be the environmental impact statement which will fully examine the impacts of an Arena at various locations."

Seattle Councilmember Tim Burgess also issued a statement in regards to the ruling:

"I applaud the court's ruling today that allows the City and County to continue forward in our environmental review process as contemplated by the MOU. The City Council emphasized the importance of a robust environmental review in its deliberations last fall in order to acquire complete information about the impact of a new arena at various locations. On Monday morning the Council will receive a briefing on the various planning efforts underway related to the proposal to bring NBA basketball back to Seattle." 

The union and businesses at the Port of Seattle were in attendance at the ruling, along with Sonics fans.