"Nobody in Olympia [WA] is enthusiastic about the
prospects" of Paul Allen's chances for success with the
Seahawks new stadium, according to Ed Penhale in the SEATTLE
POST-INTELLIGENCER. Allen, who has an exclusive option to
buy the Seahawks, wants something "like what the Mariners
got -- a package of specialty taxes aimed at fans and
tourists to finance bonds," covering the bulk of the cost of
the stadium project. But Allen "is making it easier" for
lawmakers to consider his proposal by calling for a public
vote on a funding package for football, as well as putting
up $100M of his own money for the project. But legislative
leaders said there is "no chance" they will look at Seahawk
stadium funding if the Mariner ballpark plan remains
unresolved (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 1/13). Elliott
Almond of the SEATTLE TIMES wrote on the Seahawks stadium
under the header "Legislators Are Ready to Punt on 'Hawks
Stadium." Almond: "In a climate vastly different than the
fall of 1995, when lawmakers approved special taxes to fund
a ballpark after the Mariners won the American League West
in dramatic fashion, the temperature is as cold as the
winter weather" (SEATTLE TIMES, 1/10).
