Jason Rubenstein is my friend. We grew up going to summer camp together on the Oregon Coast, then both ended up at the University of Washington (shocker, I know), and now we work together at a small start up company in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood.
After college, Jason spent two years working for the Seattle Supersoincs selling season ticket packages.
The man loved his job, and was really passionate about the team and company he worked for. Obviously, in 2008, Jason was out of work after the Sonics were hijacked by several different jabroni's.
Fast forward to 2012, and the ongoing saga that is the once in a lifetime Arena Proposal that Chris Hansen has put in front of our fearless local leaders. While Seattle proves once again to the nation that we are the city that cannot accomplish anything without making it unnecessarily difficult, pro arena groups are doing all that they can to educate and provide information as to why this deal must get done. Groups like Save Our Sonics , Sonicsgate and Sonics Arena are active in the community in voicing their support and encouraging like minded individuals to get behind this as well.
Which leads me back to Tuesday night - two of our esteemed city leaders, King County Council Member Bob Ferguson and Seattle City Council Member Mike O'Brien hosted a Town Hall style meeting at North Seattle Community College to answer questions from the community about the Arena Plan. The general opinion of the meeting was that arena proponents came off very educated and informed while opponents sounded unorganized and misinformed - they kept asking about Key Arena. Get over it. Key Arena is a dump.
Needless to say, Jason was in attendance. He waited his turn to speak, and when he did, this is what he said:
Short, well researched, impactful. I'm sure that Jason felt pretty good about what he said because it was important to him, and he was able to speak his mind. But then a funny thing happened. Look at the response from social media:
And then this from Andy Boyer - check out #18.
Because of this, because of people like Jason, I am going on record saying that I believe that the arena deal will get done. There is too much passion in this city for not only the Sonics, but for continuing the evolution of Seattle as world class city. One of our own, a local boy who made VERY good, is giving us a tremendous opportunity and despite the best efforts of the curmudgeons who are trying so hard to derail this project (including the Seattle Times, which apparently is has forgotten what objective journalism is), I have faith that in the end, the Sonics will return with a glistening new home.
It's going to a difficult process, with many speed bumps, because stubborn people who have nothing better to do will fight this to the death, even when it becomes clear it's a losing battle. But thanks to Jason Rubenstein and all of the people in Seattle that think and believe like him, I have faith.
We will build it, and they will come (back).
After college, Jason spent two years working for the Seattle Supersoincs selling season ticket packages.
The man loved his job, and was really passionate about the team and company he worked for. Obviously, in 2008, Jason was out of work after the Sonics were hijacked by several different jabroni's.
Fast forward to 2012, and the ongoing saga that is the once in a lifetime Arena Proposal that Chris Hansen has put in front of our fearless local leaders. While Seattle proves once again to the nation that we are the city that cannot accomplish anything without making it unnecessarily difficult, pro arena groups are doing all that they can to educate and provide information as to why this deal must get done. Groups like Save Our Sonics , Sonicsgate and Sonics Arena are active in the community in voicing their support and encouraging like minded individuals to get behind this as well.
Which leads me back to Tuesday night - two of our esteemed city leaders, King County Council Member Bob Ferguson and Seattle City Council Member Mike O'Brien hosted a Town Hall style meeting at North Seattle Community College to answer questions from the community about the Arena Plan. The general opinion of the meeting was that arena proponents came off very educated and informed while opponents sounded unorganized and misinformed - they kept asking about Key Arena. Get over it. Key Arena is a dump.
Needless to say, Jason was in attendance. He waited his turn to speak, and when he did, this is what he said:
My name is Jason Rubenstein and I was employed by the
Seattle Sonics and Storm from 2005-2007. I worked with our ticket sales team to
provide a fantastic gameday experience for corporate events, families, and
individuals. I saw firsthand, the significant cultural impact of a uniting
force such as a multi-purpose facility, on the city.
In 1998 CNN and Sports Illustrated produced a study on Michael Jordan’s effect on the economy of the city of Chicago. It was determined that every time Jordan stepped on the court, between $8 million and $10 million were pumped into the economy of Chicago. That could account for over $600 million over the course of the year. From parking, concessions, souvenirs, restaurants, bars, hotels, and tourism. The results for away games: even higher. Hopefully, we'll have superstars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant coming to Seattle; bringing tourism and tax revenue.
With a new arena proposal that requires no new taxes and has the 3rd-largest private investment for any arena in North America, I am in full support of this proposal. It’s important to the city. It’s important to our local businesses. It’s important to the community.
In 1998 CNN and Sports Illustrated produced a study on Michael Jordan’s effect on the economy of the city of Chicago. It was determined that every time Jordan stepped on the court, between $8 million and $10 million were pumped into the economy of Chicago. That could account for over $600 million over the course of the year. From parking, concessions, souvenirs, restaurants, bars, hotels, and tourism. The results for away games: even higher. Hopefully, we'll have superstars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant coming to Seattle; bringing tourism and tax revenue.
With a new arena proposal that requires no new taxes and has the 3rd-largest private investment for any arena in North America, I am in full support of this proposal. It’s important to the city. It’s important to our local businesses. It’s important to the community.
Short, well researched, impactful. I'm sure that Jason felt pretty good about what he said because it was important to him, and he was able to speak his mind. But then a funny thing happened. Look at the response from social media:
And then this from Andy Boyer - check out #18.
Because of this, because of people like Jason, I am going on record saying that I believe that the arena deal will get done. There is too much passion in this city for not only the Sonics, but for continuing the evolution of Seattle as world class city. One of our own, a local boy who made VERY good, is giving us a tremendous opportunity and despite the best efforts of the curmudgeons who are trying so hard to derail this project (including the Seattle Times, which apparently is has forgotten what objective journalism is), I have faith that in the end, the Sonics will return with a glistening new home.
It's going to a difficult process, with many speed bumps, because stubborn people who have nothing better to do will fight this to the death, even when it becomes clear it's a losing battle. But thanks to Jason Rubenstein and all of the people in Seattle that think and believe like him, I have faith.
We will build it, and they will come (back).
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