A Matter Of Dollars And Sense Creative Funding Needed To Gain Support Of Public

In Pennsylvania, they proposed trading the state’s vast network of liquor stores for a network of professional sports palaces. In Detroit, the city’s football and baseball teams actually are cooperating with each other in developing a half-billion-dollar athletic complex.

From Florida’s Gulf Coast to the Pacific Northwest, where the Washington Legislature is considering whether to authorize hefty public investment in a new stadium for the Seattle Seahawks, governments struggle with demands for new stadiums and arenas.

Although the public’s share of the cost for these projects varies widely - the proposed $325 million public investment in a $425 million Seahawks stadium project is at the high end - they share similar funding strategies, such as higher taxes on tickets, hotel rooms and rental cars. Some even raise sales taxes.

And most are driven by the same dilemma: build a new stadium or lose the team to a place that will.

Washington went through this in 1995, when the Mariners threatened to leave rather than play in the aging Kingdome. As the M’s wrapped up their best season ever, the Legislature agreed to grant King County authority for new levies to help build a $414 million baseball stadium.

Now lawmakers are dealing with a Seahawks crisis, spawned early last year when owner Ken Behring temporarily moved the team to Southern California.

Civic leaders, including then-King County Executive Gary Locke, asked local billionaire Paul Allen to help keep the team in the Northwest by buying it. The Microsoft co-founder agreed, but only if the public helps cover the cost of tearing down the Kingdome and replacing it with an open-air, football-only stadium.

Allen and Locke, now the governor, propose that taxpayers cover a maximum of $325 million, with Allen supplying another $100 million. Allen also expects to pay $200 million for the team.

Their proposal primarily targets sports fans. The most recent version includes a 5 percent wholesale tax on logo-bearing sports apparel, special Seahawks-oriented lottery games and higher taxes on stadium admissions and parking.

“We’re really putting the cost of the construction of a new stadium on the fans and those who support football - people who attend the games, people who might want to buy a special lottery ticket. So it really has no impact on the general taxpayer,” Locke said.

The sports tax is a new idea in an industry desperate for some.

It prompted interest in Minnesota, where owners of the Twins are pushing for a $400 million baseball stadium. Various legislative proposals have included the tax on sports products, revenues from slot machines and higher taxes on cigarettes, but lawmakers remain skeptical. Team owners offered to contribute $15 million in cash toward a new stadium, give the public 49 percent of the team and share profits.

Elsewhere, tax increases on cigarettes, liquor, rental cars and stadium admissions are being imposed or considered.

In Ohio, a 10-year extension of Cleveland liquor and cigarette taxes will help pay for a stadium that will serve as home field for the NFL team that replaces the Browns, who moved to Baltimore. The stadium is expected to cost up to $250 million, most of it public funds.

In Massachusetts, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft proposed putting $200 million of his money into a new football stadium if the state gave him the land and $65 million in infrastructure improvements. But he dropped the idea after residents in South Boston resisted.

Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld, a Republican, supports full public financing for a stadium, saying the team is a public asset. But Democratic leaders in that state’s House and Senate aren’t as enthusiastic, and the Pats are now considering other sites in the Northeast.

In Washington, Allen, Locke and lawmakers have vowed to avoid any general tax increases. But other states have hardly hesitated.

Two new stadiums for Cincinnati’s football and baseball franchises are being funded by voter-approved increases in the local sales tax.

A higher sales tax in the Phoenix area will help pay for a stadium for its new baseball team.

And voters in the six-county Denver metropolitan area would be asked to approve a sales tax increase if a study concludes that aging Mile High Stadium, home to the NFL Broncos, be replaced.

Another funding source considered in some states are athletes’ incomes, particularly since the need for new, revenue-generating stadiums is usually blamed on multimillion-dollar salaries.

Philadelphia’s experience with a local income tax - it generated $3 million from athletes between 1993 and 1996 - has prompted proposals to tax players’ salaries. For states such as Texas and Washington that don’t have an income tax, backers have suggested imposing a “locker room” tax or so-called “user fee.”

The Texas Senate rejected the idea, and Locke and legislative leaders also have ruled out that option in Washington.

San Francisco, Cincinnati and Detroit also have plans in the works for football and baseball facilities. Detroit’s planned complex will include new stadiums for both teams, and the Lions and Tigers are cooperating on the $505 million project.

No such luck in the Northwest.

Though many Washington residents have questioned the wisdom of building two stadiums with a combined cost of more than $800 million without requiring the teams to work together and possibly save money, legislative leaders say there’s no hope for cooperation.

The Mariners have already broken ground on their new stadium, and they threatened to leave in December when the project faced delays.

Few, if any, of the other regions dealing with new stadiums are asking the public for as much money as Locke and Allen are asking for the Seahawks stadium.

The public’s proposed $325 million share is only $60 million less than the combined amount that five California cities - Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento - have agreed in the past two years to spend on renovating stadiums in order to keep or regain professional teams.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: STADIUM GAMES A sampling of plans for financing new sports stadiums and arenas: Arizona: Taxpayers are paying for up to $238 million of the $330 million cost of a stadium for baseball’s expansion Arizona Diamondbacks. Most of the money is coming from a boost in the local sales tax. California: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento have agreed in the past two years to put up a total of $383 million in public funds to renovate stadiums. San Franciscans will vote June 3 on whether to authorize $100 million in public money for a $525 million football stadium and megamall. Giants owners found private financing for a $262 million baseball stadium. Colorado: Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said he would pay at least a quarter of the $240 million-$290 million cost to replace aging Mile High Stadium. If a panel established by the Legislature decides a new stadium should be built, voters in the six-county Denver metropolitan area would be asked to approve a 1-cent-per-$10 sales tax to pay for it. District of Columbia: A stadium for the Washington Bullets and Capitals, expected to cost up to $180 million, is being privately financed by the team owner, with some public help for infrastructure improvements, such as roads and sewer lines. Maryland: Last year, the General Assembly approved $200 million for the Baltimore Ravens’ new football stadium and $70.5 million in infrastructure costs to support the Washington Redskins’ football stadium being built in Landover by owner Jack Kent Cooke. Massachusetts: The New England Patriots halted a move to build a stadium in South Boston. Owner Robert Kraft had proposed to put $200 million of his own money into a stadium if the state gave him the land and agreed to $65 million in infrastructure improvements. Neighborhood and legislative opposition killed that plan and the team is considering other sites in the Northeast. Michigan: A proposed $505 million sports entertainment complex in Detroit would include an open-air baseball stadium for the Tigers and domed football stadium for the Lions. Funding sources include higher taxes on rental cars and hotel rooms, and revenue from Indian casinos. Minnesota: A state Senate committee has advanced a bill to build a $400 million retractable-roof stadium for the Minnesota Twins without proposing a way to pay for it. Earlier versions included money from slot machines, a cigarette tax increase and a sales tax on logo-bearing sports memorabilia. Taxes on player salaries also have been proposed. Team owners have offered to put $15 million in cash toward a stadium and give the public 49 percent of the team and a share of profits. Ohio: In Cleveland, a $220 million-$250 million football stadium will be financed with a 10-year extension of a countywide liquor and cigarette tax, a city parking tax, an event ticket tax, a car rental tax - together providing at least $170 million - plus up to $48 million from the NFL to compensate for loss of the Browns to Baltimore and proceeds from premium-seat sales. In Cincinnati, voters approved a higher sales tax to pay for new football and baseball stadiums. Pennsylvania: In Pittsburgh, talks are on for a $200 million baseball stadium. The Steelers want either $120 million in Three Rivers Stadium renovations or a new football stadium. Last fall, Gov. Tom Ridge endorsed a recommendation to raise money for sports stadiums by turning the state liquor trade over to private business. He backed away from that. Texas: Professional sports teams in San Antonio, Dallas and Houston want the public to help pay for new stadiums. An attempt to allow state tax money to be used for that purpose was rebuffed by lawmakers last year. The Legislature is working on bills that would allow communities to raise local taxes. Washington: The revised Seahawks stadium proposal backed by Gov. Gary Locke and prospective owner Paul Allen is based on a 5 percent wholesale tax on logo-bearing sports apparel, special lottery games and higher taxes on stadium admissions and parking. Public investment in the $425 million stadium project would be capped at $325 million, with Allen providing the rest. The $414 million Mariners’ stadium plan authorized in 1995 by the Legislature and the King County Council includes $45 million from the team owners, with the public’s share coming from a state sales-tax credit, special lottery games and higher taxes on restaurant tabs, car rentals and stadium admissions. -Associated Press