Russell Wilson writes letter to Seattle mayor urging new SoDo arena

SEATTLE – Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson wrote a letter to Mayor Ed Murray on Thursday staking out the latest position of the group hoping to build a new arena in SoDo.

The letter mostly restated the new offer the Sonics Arena group made last month, though it did clarify that Occidental Ave. would not be vacated until the group secured either an NBA or NHL team.

The letter was co-signed by Chris Hansen, Wally Walker, Erik Nordstrom and Pete Nordstrom, but Wilson said during his weekly Seahawks press conference that he was the one who wrote it.

“Hopefully we can change lives and give opportunities to people and inspire young kids and people all over,” Wilson said. “So that’ll be a cool thing, to bring SoDo Arena here and allow an NBA or an NHL team to play here.”

The letter was a follow-up to the group’s announcement last month that it would forego the Memorandum of Understanding it had with the city, giving up any public investment in the project, with the exception of the city potentially waiving its admission tax.

“It’s a political thing a little bit, but I think in due time it will work out,” Wilson said.