Stadium Deal Questioned Roskelley Says County Paying Too Much For Upkeep

Spokane County owns one of the finest baseball stadiums in the Pacific Northwest, but one county commissioner thinks taxpayers might be paying too much for it.

In a memorandum to fellow commissioners, John Roskelley wrote that some of the county’s contracts with outside private interests don’t appear to be in the public’s best interest.

He singled out agreements with the Spokane Indians minor-league baseball team and the Senior Pro-Classic golf tournament.

The deal with Indians owner Bobby Brett “has an excessive time period and seems to be unusually expensive for the county to maintain and operate,” Roskelley wrote.

Roskelley, aided by a county attorney, said parts of the contract, which expires in the year 2009, can and possibly should be renegotiated.

The county owns what now is called Seafirst Stadium and pays $46,000 a year to maintain it during the spring and summer. In the past few years, taxpayers also have paid $40,000 to $60,000 for annual repairs.

Brett pays the county more than $12,000 in yearly rent and has put “hundreds of thousands of dollars” of his own money into improvements, said Indians General Manager Andy Billig. Some of that money comes from Seafirst Bank, which paid for the stadium name starting in 1993.

Indians’ salaries are paid by the club’s major-league parent, the Kansas City Royals. Brett receives concession and ticket revenues.

Billig said it’s hard to quantify the economic benefit to Spokane County from having professional baseball. The team employs up to 150 part-time workers and draws people from out of town to motels and restaurants.

The club also is a major contributor to local charities, he said, and provides one of the area’s best entertainment values - $2.50 tickets for children and $1 hot dogs. The stadium also is host to high school and other baseball tournaments, Billig said.

Last year, the losing Indians drew a record 162,000 fans - an average of 4,272 per game.

“I think this has been an excellent partnership for the taxpayers and people of Spokane,” Billig said. “The Bretts are putting their own money forward to improve a county-owned facility.”

Before Brett bought the team in 1986, the stadium was nearly ready to be condemned, Billig said.

Brett said every prior baseball owner in Spokane, dating back to 1958, lost money or moved to another city. The only way to ensure a long-term commitment to Spokane, he said, is with a long-term contract.

“You can’t sign a contract long enough with a good operator,” said Brett, who turned angry and laced his comments with profanities. “Maybe I should move the team out of Spokane.”

Clyde Haase, a member of the Interstate Fair Advisory Board, which oversees the stadium, said no one wants baseball to leave Spokane.

But in lean economic times, he said, “we need to look at the economics and how it affects each of us.”

County fair manager Paul Gillingham supports Roskelley’s review of the Indians’ contract.

The deal was signed in 1986 and amended in 1993 by a prior board of county commissioners. Parts of it were done with a handshake between Brett and former county parks director Sam Angove, who was ousted last year.

“I think the contract leans in favor of Bobby Brett quite a bit,” Gillingham said. “When your priorities change, it’s time to review all the contracts. We’re running out of money.”

Roskelley also is questioning the Senior Pro-Classic contracts. He proposes that the Spokane Convention and Visitors Bureau pay the county for use of its MeadowWood golf course each year for the tournament.

By closing MeadowWood to the public on Labor Day weekend, the county loses $10,000 in fees and incurs $2,000 in additional maintenance costs, Roskelley said.

Tournament director Toby Steward said the non-profit event lost $20,000 in its inaugural 1994 season. Last year, the tournament gave its $3,000 profit to charities. Meanwhile, the event resulted in $350,000 in annual economic benefits to county businesses. More than $30,000 is budgeted to charities for the 1996 tournament, he said.

County Commissioners Steve Hasson and Phil Harris haven’t weighed in on Roskelley’s memorandum.

But both noted that with Brett, the stadium has gone from an embarrassment to a major source of community pride. “It looked like the Spalding’s wrecking yard before,” Hasson said. “Now it looks great.”

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