Mariners President John Ellis sent a letter to King County
Exec Gary Locke yesterday granting a 30-day delay before the club
is put up for sale. The move gives state and local leaders until
October 30 to come up with a financing plan for a new stadium.
In the letter, Ellis reiterates that without a new retractable
dome stadium ownership has "no alternative but to offer the team
for sale." Ellis notes M's owners have shown their commitment to
the city through the acquisition of a winning club with high-
priced talent and long-term deals for players, and that the fans
have made a commitment both through attendance and calls for a
solution. Ellis: "Now is the time for political leaders to
decide their level of commitment" (Mariners).
STADIUM VOTE DIES AT WARNING TRACK: The final tally of the
September 19 vote to raise the King County sales tax to fund a
new stadium was released yesterday. The measure lost by 1,082
votes -- 246,500 No's, 245,418 Yes's. Today in Olympia, WA Gov.
Mike Lowry will host a meeting of Seattle, King County and state
legislative leaders to come up with an alternative funding
method. Conklin & George write in this morning's SEATTLE POST-
INTELLIGENCER that "if significant progress is made" at the
meeting, "there is a strong chance" an emergency legislative
session will be called on the stadium issue. Several funding
ideas already have been mentioned, including taking out $156M in
bonds that would be repaid over 20 years with sales tax money
generated by the team. Other ideas include tapping the state's
general fund, which shows a surplus of $746M (POST-INTELLIGENCER,
9/29). Meanwhile, at a conference yesterday in Seattle, Peter
Ueberroth said if he were still commissioner, he would not let
the Mariners leave. Ueberroth: "The team's success in baseball
is 80 percent the stadium and only 20 percent the performance of
the team" (POST-INTELLIGENCER, 9/29).
TOP CONCERN: Although several lawmakers claim $40-$70M
could be saved from the project if a retractable roof is left
out, the team insists one is necessary. A study commissioned by
the Mariners estimates attendance could increase by 200,000 per
season with a retractable roof. Local businessman John Torrance,
who lobbied to build a retractable-roof facility in '92, says it
"is key to making the building available for tenants other than
baseball." Torrance: "You pay 20% more to have 100% increase in
use" (Peter Callaghan, TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE, 9/28).
AND, IF ALL FAILS: MLB officials privately tell the
WASHINGTON POST's Mark Maske that if the Mariners move, they are
"more likely to move to Vancouver" than the DC area. MLB
officials consider Washington a NL market. However, the
possibility of paying an NL team to switch leagues is mentioned
(WASHINGTON POST, 9/29). In this morning's N.Y. TIMES, Richard
Sandomir questions the Mariners' ability to sell luxury suites if
they do secure a new ballpark. Sandomir reports that Seattle
"has a growing corporate infrastructure that disdains the
Mariners. ... The primary problem in Seattle is, if you build a
stadium, will the corporations come?" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/29).
CORRECTION: Wednesday's SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY misidentified
the name of the President of the Portland Metropolitan Sports
Authority. His name is Will Glasgow.
