Maintenance, upgrades and other fixes at Safeco Field will largely be financed by the MarinersGETTY IMAGES
The King County (Wash.) Council "gave final approval" yesterday to spend $135M in taxpayer funds on the Mariners' Safeco Field despite "objections that the billion-dollar company could pay for its own needs," according to Mike Rosenberg of the SEATTLE TIMES. The 5-4 vote was "largely academic after the council had already voted the same way during a committee meeting on the funding earlier this month." However, it "ends a saga that began in May when the Mariners tentatively reached a new 25-year lease with the Public Facilities District that oversees the ballpark." The team said that it would "only sign the lease if the council approved" King County Council Exec Dow Constantine's proposal for $180M in "public funds to fix wear and tear" at the 19-year-old ballpark. The council "knocked down the funding amount" to $135M after "public criticism." The Mariners have said that the team "expects to sign a long-term lease once the funding is approved, despite the allocation's being less than what the team wanted." The team's current lease "expires at the end of this year." King County voters "rejected funding" for a new ballpark in '95, but the state Legislature "approved taxes for construction anyway." Taxpayer funds "ultimately financed" 72% of Safeco Field's $517M cost. The Mariners have noted that they will "finance the vast majority of the maintenance, fixes and upgrades at the ballpark over the next quarter century -- a total bill expected to cost" $680M (SEATTLE TIMES, 9/18).
