In a "marked change", King County Exec and Gov-elect
Gary Locke, pledged to help prospective Seahawks buyer Paul
Allen with public financing for a new stadium, according to
David Schaefer in the SEATTLE TIMES. Locke, whose first
preference is still a renovated Kingdome, said that one of
his first acts as governor will be to appoint a group to
study financing for a new stadium. The new lease agreement
signed between the county and Allen on Monday, which will
reduce the Seahawks lease to three years, will cost the
county more than $1M a year, money that Locke said the
county wouldn't receive if the Seahawks left Seattle.
Locke: "King County and the taxpayers came out whole. The
county will not lose money ... We are not going to subsidize
professional football." Other lease provisions include the
team receiving all proceeds from concessions, as well as the
rights to sell advertising inside and outside the dome. The
lease also includes a clause stating that Allen must first
look for a local buyer before selling or moving the team out
of the area, and if he does sell out of state, he must pay a
share of the profits to the county (SEATTLE TIMES, 12/10).
$100 MILLION MAN: Speaking before the Seahawks-Kingdome
Renovation Task Force Monday night, Football Northwest
President Bob Whitsitt said that funding for a new stadium
could reach $100M with a combination of money from Allen and
PSLs, according to Elliott Almond in the SEATTLE TIMES.
Whitsitt also said that if the task force decides a
renovated Kingdome is the best option, then Allen would not
aid the effort. Whitsitt: "If you can get the funding in
Olympia, fine, but we won't support it." Whitsitt, to a
task force member: "Don't wait around for Paul to write a
check for a renovated Kingdome" (SEATTLE TIMES, 12/10).
OUCH: Noting that the Washington State Major League
Baseball Public Facilities District is "polishing plans" for
a $385M baseball stadium, SEATTLE TIMES columnist Terry
McDermott noted, "If Locke can't manage a problem as
straightforward as housing two sports teams, what's he going
to do with complicated issues like education and welfare
reform?" (SEATTLE TIMES, 12/10).
