Stepping To Plate With Mariners Will Cost You $30

Mariner fans anxious to mount “Stadium Supporter” license plates on their motor vehicles probably will have to wait until late spring, state officials said Wednesday.

And some of the enthusiasm may turn to groans when the fans see the pricetag: $30 for the specialized plates and $30 each year they are renewed, on top of the standard taxes and fees required to register vehicles in Washington.

The plates must be designed and a metal stamp made before inmates at the Washington State Penitentiary can begin manufacturing them, licensing officials said.

The first plate probably won’t clatter off the line until May.

The state Department of Licensing joins Gov. Mike Lowry and legislative leaders in guessing more than 11,000 of the plates will be sold each year, raising about $300,000 annually over the next several years.

Skeptics call the projection grossly optimistic, noting that the half-dozen other specialty license plates thought to be sure hits are not selling nearly as well as expected.

Whatever money is raised from the stadium-supporter plates will go toward financing a new $320 million ballpark for the Seattle Mariners.

Plate sales, even at their best, are a tiny part of the package, which also calls for bond sales and new taxes. Those levies still must be approved by King County.