In a lopsided 7-2 vote, the city council just approved an amended deal to build a half-billion-dollar arena in SoDo, a mere half hour after the King County Council also voted (in their case, unanimously) to approve the deal. 

Council members Nick Licata and Richard Conlin were the only "no" votes this afternoon, echoing their previous opposition; when the council initially voted on the arena in September, both council members said they weren't convinced the city should spend tax dollars on a sports and entertainment facility, and argued that the new arena would effectively condemn KeyArena, the current home of the Seattle Storm. 

Earlier this month, the county council approved an arena deal with a number of amendments favorable to parts of the county outside Seattle proper—among them, an amendment supported by South King County council member Julia Patterson stipulating that requests for state and federal funding for transportation projects to improve freight mobility around the arena not take money away from other transportation projects that have been waiting for funding for years, even decades.

The arena plan includes $40 million for freight mobility projects, but the city has said it plans to ask the state and federal governments, as well as the Port of Seattle, for additional transportation funding in the area.