Ballpark Support Slow To Develop

It’s only another dime on every hundred bucks in purchases. But a proposed sales-tax boost to buy the Seattle Mariners a new ballpark appears to have fewer fans than, well, the Mariners on a sunny afternoon.

“There’s no free lunch and there’s no free stadium,” says King County councilmember Pete von Reichbauer, a baseball lover who knows he’s “at risk of being named geek of the week” for disputing the Field of Dreams theory of ballpark construction.

“Just by building a building doesn’t mean people will come,” von Reichbauer said. “We’re not talking about a cornfield being plowed away. We’re talking about a $300 million-plus project.”

The Mariners say they can’t make money in the county-owned Kingdome, and will move or sell the team if construction doesn’t start next year on a new ballpark with a retractable roof.

The Legislature last month gave the county permission to raise its sales tax from 8.2 percent to 8.3 percent, which would generate $30 million a year to help pay for an outdoor ballpark.

The Mariners and county were disappointed the Legislature did not approve spending some state money on the ballpark. And they face an uphill battle getting voter approval for the tax increase.

The new field - with real grass and a view of Mount Rainier - would be across the street from the no-frills Kingdome, where the Mariners play on plastic indoors.

But politicians say the proposal to pay for it has many catches:

The county council has to approve putting the proposal on the fall ballot. That means answering a host of questions, from how the proposed new taxing district will work to what assets and liabilities the county would keep.

The idea needs solid backing from fans, politicians, business people and the M’s, none of whom have shown unbridled enthusiasm.

County voters, who never look kindly on new taxes and spending, likely will have two or three other big-ticket ballot items in November.

The sour taste from the baseball strike won’t help.

What happens to the Kingdome, which will lose 81 “event days” a year if the Mariners vacate? Von Reichbauer says the county may actually wind up ahead because of the millions of dollars in Kingdome concessions given the team.

The unanswered questions have led to a game of “you-first, no-you-first” as to who will kick off the campaign for the new tax.

The stumbling block appears to be the need for a grass-roots campaign - something all the principals can point to and say: See, we need a stadium; the public will support a tax.