Mariners Stadium Faces Work Freeze Without Court Approval Of Bonds Soon

The opening of a new Seattle Mariners stadium could be delayed past its scheduled July 1999 debut unless the state Supreme Court rules next week on whether construction bonds can be released, the project director says.

“We simply have to deal with the reality that we may not be able to move forward on schedule,” said Ken Johnsen, executive director of the public facilities district overseeing construction of the $414 million ballpark.

The construction project, which has been operating on loans from King County and the Mariners, will run out of money in about a week, Johnsen said Monday. It needs about $50 million in the next month to keep work on track, he said.

Pending the Supreme Court ruling, $336 million in public financing is being held in escrow. Stadium opponents claim the money is an improper form of corporate welfare.

If that money is not released, contractors will have to put their work on hold, costing more than $50,000 a day and causing the project’s opening date to be pushed back, Johnsen said.

Mariners Vice President Paul Isaki said that if the high court takes many more months before ruling, the project’s cost could rise to a point where the Mariners would have to pull out. The team is to pay $45 million of its costs, as well as any cost overruns after a $53 million contingency fund is exhausted.

In Olympia, Supreme Court clerk C.J. Merritt said there is no way to predict when the justices will rule.