The Seattle SuperSonics were told by the Legislature on Monday that their request for $265 million to renovate and pay off existing debts on KeyArena was not likely to get through this legislative session.  Their answer?   Rewrite House Bill 2209 by Friday.

?We got a pretty chilly reception on Monday,? said Terry McLaughlin, the team?s executive vice president of administration. ?So we are trying to put variables on this thing that will work.?

The current form of the bill asks for $205 million to renovate KeyArena by extending hotel-motel, restaurant and car rental taxes that are paying off the construction of Safeco and Qwest fields. It also asks for $60 million to retire the existing debt on the 1994 renovation of KeyArena. And it asks for $4 million a year in perpetuity for arts groups.

?The difficulty, of course, is that it is a multipart arrangement,? McLaughlin said. ?You?ve got the arts groups, you?ve got the city and you?ve got the Sonics all feeling like they need to weigh in on this.?