Seattle Billionaire To The Rescue? Seattle Fans Hoping Paul Allen Will Make An Offer On The Seahawks

Ken Behring says he’s in Los Angeles to stay, but Seattle officials still aren’t giving up hope of finding a local buyer for the Seahawks.

“The question remains whether he wants to sell,” King County Executive Gary Locke said Sunday night, confirming talks were continuing between Behring’s people and a prospective buyer.

“I think that when we succeed in court in forcing the team to stay here, he may have more incentive to sell the team,” Locke said. The county filed suit last week.

While the mayor of Anaheim is set to announce plans today that would provide the Seahawks with a training site at Rams Park, a moving van showed up at team headquarters in suburban Kirkland and workers loaded it with exercise equipment.

Behring told The Los Angeles Times from his Danville, Calif., land developing offices on Saturday, “I’m committed to Los Angeles.” He said his team will be moving to Rams Park “very soon.”

“I’m a Californian and this is where I want to be,” Behring said.

In Seattle, a key player in the Behring drama reacted calmly Sunday to Behring’s comments.

“I’m sure Mr. Behring wants to keep as many options as he can on the table,” said Peter von Reichbauer, a member of the Metropolitan King County Council.

Von Reichbauer said he talked to Behring by telephone Saturday and was “still hopeful” Behring would agree to sell the Seahawks to a local buyer.

Locke said price and terms were questions to be answered, but that Behring had indicated he wouldn’t close the door to an offer. He also said he hoped other prospective local owners would surface.

Anaheim mayor Tom Daly issued a statement late Saturday night, which read: “We are optimistic we can reach an agreement with Ken Behring for his team’s use of our training facility, and then use that as a springboard for negotiations for his NFL team to have a home at Sportstown Anaheim.”

A Sportstown complex is in the planning stages.

“Decisions on a new name, colors, and team logo will be made with local community involvement, signaling the team’s desire to reach out to Southern California fans right away,” Daly said.

Seahawks’ fans are hopeful local billionaire Paul Allen will wind up with the franchise. Von Reichbauer hasn’t identified the team’s prospective buyer, but it’s widely believed to be Allen, a Seahawks’ season ticket holder and owner of the NBA Portland Trail Blazers.

“We’re in ongoing discussions that began a couple of weeks ago and I anticipate there will be negotiations within 10 days or two weeks,” von Reichbauer said.

Behring brought up the subject of selling the Seahawks to a local buyer at a lunch with von Reichbauer four weeks ago. Von Reichbauer then contacted Allen, Allen’s representatives have said.

If Allen decides against making a bid for the Seahawks, von Reichbauer has lined up a possible backup buyer. Von Reichbauer described him as “a business leader not from Seattle, but from the Northwest.”

In Southern California, horse racing mogul R.D. Hubbard, chairman of Hollywood Park in Inglewood, reminded Behring of plans he announced last December for a $250 million stadium to be built on the northwest corner of Hollywood Park property near the Forum where the Los Angeles Lakers play.

“We have worked for two years on this project,” Hubbard said. “We own the land. The environmental impact report is complete and our financing is ready. We are the only ones in Los Angeles that can build a new stadium for the 1998 season.”

The city of Los Angeles, which lost the Raiders, also wasn’t out of the running, either.

“We are still moving ahead with our study to determine the feasibility of building a state-of-the-art football stadium on Dodger property,” said Los Angeles Dodgers president Peter O’Malley.

“I continue to believe that the ideal way to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles is to introduce an expansion team at the grand opening of a dynamic and fanfriendly football stadium,” O’Malley said in a statement.

The Seahawks came into the league in 1976. Behring bought the franchise in 1988 for $80 million and $19 million in existing debt. It’s now estimated to be worth between $160 million and $200 million, including $40 million of debt.

Behring still has 10 years left on his lease to play in the Kingdome. The lease that the Seahawks are playing under was signed by the Nordstrom family before it sold the franchise to Behring.

King County, owner and operator of the Kingdome, is suing Behring to keep the team from moving as the Raiders and Rams did from Los Angeles in 1995.

Before his Friday announcement, Behring had sought $150 million in Kingdome improvements. He reportedly felt slighted when the Seattle Mariners got a $320 million outdoor stadium from the Washington Legislature last year. The new stadium with a retractable roof will be ready for the 1999 Mariners’ season.