Even though Paul Allen will not decide whether to buy the
Seahawks from Ken Behring until the end of the football season,
he will begin exploring options for an improved stadium -- either
a renovated Kingdome or a new facility. In Tacoma, Elaine
Porterfield writes the Blazers' $262M Rose Garden that Allen
constructed is considered a "model public-private partnership"
since taxpayers contributed only $34.5M to the $155M Allen
procured from private investors and the $46M he paid himself.
But in Portland, Allen was able to entice investors with a track
record of 812 sellouts, 70 pre-sold luxury suites and a schedule
of over 200 events a year. A football-only stadium would be less
profitable, hosting at most 10 games a year. Allen: "It can be
done, but it takes a lot of work." Allen said if he were to
build a new stadium, one of the three sites adjacent to the
Kingdome being considered for the Mariners ballpark would be his
first choice, with a suburban facility with more parking his
second (Tacoma NEWS TRIBUNE, 4/25).
SHOULDN'T BREAK THE BANK: The city of Anaheim said the
Seahawks owe about $150,000 for the cost of fixing up the
training camp they were set to move into. City attorney Jack
White: "We haven't even invoiced them yet, but we don't expect
any problem in receiving the payment from them for the costs
incurred" (Tacoma NEWS TRIBUNE, 4/25).
