Chris Hansen is leading the efforts for Seattle to build an NBA-ready arena to attract a team back to the area.

Hansen's efforts have resulted in the purchase of land in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood. He has developed a proposal that will include nearly $300 million in private investment and $200 million bonded by Seattle and King County to be paid off over 30 years through rent and tax revenues from the arena.

“He’s just so sincere and honest and having dealt with people in this arena before, political and sports, I am just consistently stunned by the lack of gamesmanship,” said Brian Robinson, former head of Save Our Sonics and current head of Arena Solution. “He tells you what he means and he means what he says and he’s very consistent and very honest and people will always respond to that.”

“I’m not talking about a slick guy who can talk off the top of his head. What really impressed me was the degree to which he invested a lot of time and energy to know his subject,” investor Peter Nordstrom said. “It’s not just about the arena, not just about the team, he knows all of it. He seems like a guy who gets the information he needs before he acts.”