MARINERS STADIUM PLAN IN A SLUMP?

     Officials in Seattle said yesterday that "intense"
negotiations are under way between the Mariners and the Public
Facilities District, which is developing the $330M stadium near
the Kingdome, according to Steven Goldsmith in the SEATTLE POST-
INTELLIGENCER.  The district can not buy property or order steel
to meet the ballpark's April '99 opening unless the Mariners
contribute some financing. The Mariners "must contribute" $45M by
the end of construction but the district needs about $20M between
now and January.  Because of "wording in the law authorizing the
ballpark, only then can the district draw from its main money
spigot: construction bonds to be repaid from, among other things,
special taxes on every car rental and restaurant meal in the
county."   Officials of the district and Mariners "won't specify
where they expect the club to find" $20M.  One "possibility" is a
loan backed by the "fortunes" of some of the team's owners
(SEATTLE POST INTELLIGENCER, 9/17).