Report: Group interested in footing $285 million bill to make KeyArena NBA-friendly

SEATTLE – The Seattle Times is reporting that a New Mexico-based real-estate investment company wrote a letter to the Mayor Ed Murray’s office indicating it was interested in footing the $285 million bill that would be required to overhaul KeyArena to make it a viable home for the NBA and NHL.

The city, of course, has been without an NBA team – and the arena without an anchor tenant – since the SuperSonics pulled up stakes for Oklahoma City in 2008.

The city – which has an agreement with Chris Hansen to pursue building an arena in the SoDo District – hasn’t responded to the letter of interest, the Times reported.

The group believes the $285 million investment would make the arena work for both the NBA and NHL, even at its current size.

Key to the offer is Seattle native Christopher Brozovich, who is vice president of M.T. Phoenix LLC.

“Our first stance, at a glance, is that we collectively would be very excited to be involved with the revitalization of the KeyArena to bring it back to its original glory,’’ Brozovich wrote in the letter.