Appeals May Delay Ballpark After Court Balks At Speed-Up

Seattle Mariners officials said Friday that they remain “fully committed” to building a new baseball stadium for the team, despite a state Supreme Court ruling that could delay construction.

The Supreme Court on Thursday gave opponents of the ballpark project until April 14 to appeal a lowercourt decision that said the project is legal and wouldn’t be subject to public vote.

The high court rejected a King County request for faster action to meet construction deadlines, granting the opponents the full 30 days to file their appeal.

Planners of the $414 million ballpark had hoped construction could begin next month.

“We view the court’s decision as another challenge to confront on the already bumpy road to a new ballpark,” Mariners vice president Paul Isaki said in a statement.

The justices did grant King County’s request to bypass the state Court of Appeals and take the case directly to the high court - eliminating a time-consuming intermediate process.

There is no way to predict how long the Supreme Court will take to rule on the appeal. A final ruling is needed for the county to release $336 million in borrowed money for the project.

The Public Facilities District over-seeing the stadium project is proceeding on a $33.3 million loan from King County. Project officials say the money will run out at the end of March.

Without a county bond sale, $65 million in new concrete and steel contracts will have to be canceled before April 1.

Project manager Vic Oblas has said delays would cost $50,000 daily and could, in two months, exceed the $53.4 million in the project’s overruncontingency fund.

Isaki urged the county to maintain its plan to issue the bonds by March 25, keeping the money in escrow until the Supreme Court rules.