In an attempt to persuade King County officials to build a
community-financed stadium, Mariners CEO John Ellis yesterday
disclosed the team's financial statement revealing that the team
has lost between $42-50M over the past three seasons. At that
rate, Ellis told the King County Stadium Alternatives Task Force,
Mariners owners will lose $50M by 1995. Ellis contended that the
only way to stem the losses is to build a 45-47,000-seat
baseball-only stadium and to have MLB reach an agreement on
revenue sharing and a salary cap with the players union. Ellis
further added that if a publicly-financed stadium is not built,
the Mariners would leave Seattle. Ellis: "I'll tell you if it's
(baseball) gone, you'll know it, and other communities are
standing on their ears [to have a team like the Mariners]." The
Task Force did not dispute the team's losses, but several members
questioned how the public could pay for a stadium estimated to
cost at least $250M. Ellis admitted that even if King County
agrees to the stadium, "things might not change" for the team if
a new CBA does not include revenue sharing and a cap (Angelo
Bruscas, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 10/19).
