Allen Era Looks One Step Closer Microsoft Co-Founder Gushes Optimism At Press Conference

Paul Allen sounded like a man who had just bought himself a football team.

“I don’t want to come up with any negative scenario,” he said. “I’m very optimistic at this point.”

On Tuesday, the billionaire owner of the NBA Portland Trail Blazers and co-founder of Microsoft Corp. was introduced as the would-be savior of the Seattle Seahawks.

Allen, 43, who lives in the Seattle suburb of Mercer Island, has the next 14 months to decide if he’s going to exercise the exclusive option he secured late last week to purchase the Seahawks from Ken Behring.

Behring announced in February he planned to move the team to Southern California, saying the Kingdome was no longer the first-class facility promised in his lease. That led to suits and countersuits between King County and Behring, a legal skirmish that has been put on hold since the Allen option was announced last weekend.

Will Allen exercise that option?

“Realistically, I think we’ll look to have a season under our belts to evaluate things and talk to everybody involved about the different stadium alternatives and other factors,” he told a news conference at Seahawks headquarters here.

Allen, whose wealth was estimated last fall by Forbes Magazine at $6.5 billion, made it clear he’s not about to lose a small fortune owning the Seahawks.

“The sports business is a business just like I’m involved in the Portland Trail Blazers,” he said.

If Allen is going to buy the Seahawks, he’s probably going to require some kind of guarantee from King County officials and Seattle business leaders that they’ll help him find a way to build a new, outdoor, football-only stadium.

Or help him renovate the 20-year-old Kingdome. County consultants have estimated a three-year Kingdome facelift would cost $197 million.

Allen worked out his deal with Behring Friday and talked later in the day with NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Tagliabue’s message to Allen: Try to get your new team a new stadium.

“He emphasized to me that right now state-of-the-art facilities that are built for a particular sport tend to have the best potential to achieve the revenues necessary to support the growing salaries in sports,” Allen said.

So what does Allen want, a new stadium or a fixed-up Kingdome?

“I’m open-minded about all the different options,” he said. “That’s going to be an evolving process over the next few months.”

If a new stadium is built, Allen said he’d prefer it to be in downtown Seattle, perhaps at one of the three sites near the Kingdome that are under consideration for a new $320 million outdoor baseball stadium that is expected to be ready for the 1999 Seattle Mariners season.

Allen said he’d be willing to spend some of his money in an effort to help solve the Seahawks’ stadium dilemma, but wouldn’t say how much.

“I’m sure there’d be some level of involvement,” he said. “You know I was part of putting a new arena in place in Portland and that’s turned out really well.”

Allen obtained $155 million from private investors and reportedly put up $46 million of his money to get the $262 million Rose Garden built in Portland.

The City of Portland chipped in $34.5 million, an amount that is being repaid to the city during the next six years from parking and ticket-tax revenues.

With Allen’s involvement, the Seahawks will start selling season tickets. The team received more than 1,000 telephone calls on Monday from people who didn’t have 1995 tickets and are interested in buying 1996 tickets.

Because of Behring’s intention to move the franchise, he was not selling tickets here. A record low 46,000 Seahawks season tickets were sold last season and there were no sellouts.

Allen said it was important that fans return to the Kingdome - in large numbers.

“I think support is the key to any franchise,” he said. “This is a real chance for the community and the fans to step forward and support the team this year. That’s certainly what I hope they do.”

Although Allen refused to discuss details of his deal with Behring, and would not disclose the amount Behring is asking for a franchise he has owned since 1988, Allen said he was not paying too much - if he does agree to buy.

“If I do exercise the option, it’s a very hefty price, but it’s not out of line for other NFL teams,” he said.

He said he had a long-standing interest in buying the Seahawks.

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