The take that keeps on taking: M's want $180 million of taxpayer money for Safeco Field. (Seattle: appointed, credit)

[CrazyDonkey]

The current lease will be up, which means all of the terms are up for renegotiation. A failure to come to terms could mean the Mariners leaving town - that is their leverage.

Public funds were used to build the stadium and pay off the debt. With maintenance costs, including for major items like the roof, only increasing over the remaining life of the facility, the Mariners are probably not wrong to expect the County to pick up any tab in excess of historical maintenance costs, but the County is also not wrong to expect the Mariners to continue to be responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of a facility that the County largely built for them, gratis.

A separate question is whether the County has a responsibility to help update what is a public facility in order for it to remain competitive, without which attendance, and thus also revenues, will likely suffer over the remaining life of the facility. The County could also counter that the Mariners match any contribution it makes toward meeting these costs, in the form of higher lease payments.

[phoenixmike11]

Mariners’ $180m lease subsidy demand only has two council backers out of nine so far | Field of Schemes

[noah]

As a public entity if your going to be in the business of owning stadiums (ie Safeco, Key arena) your likely to have to maintain them sooner or later. Hard to pass on all the costs to the tenant, and certainly not the norm to do so whether it is a stadium or a commercial property. That said, politically it is a near impossible sell in this town at this time.

[jm31828]

People are missing the facts on this. The stadium is a facility owned by the city, the tenant being the Mariners. Similar to you or I renting a house or apartment. The landlord (in this case the city) is obligated to put money into the facility from time to time to keep it up- the core structure, plumbing, electricity, etc. Just like our landlords have to.
$180 million over the course of 20 years.

But the Mariners as the tenants are putting up their own money- $600 million during that time- for everything inside the facility- for upgrades to the fan and game experience, to new entertainment options, whatever- that is on them. They are spending the bulk of the money on the things that may benefit them- the city is just putting in money for basic upkeep of the core facility that it owns.
And the return on investment is good- they get more back out of having the Mariners there than they are spending.

[Blindtom]

Originally Posted by jm31828

And the return on investment is good- they get more back out of having the Mariners there than they are spending.

If that is true, it would be a no brainer to invest. I have always been led to believe that the teams make money and the cities do not.

[Returning2USA]

Originally Posted by 87112

Screw helping the Mariners. Any business that can give out 240 million dollar contracts ( Cano) does not need handouts. If some other city needs them at any cost let them leave.

And Seager, who's not worth it.

And Felix, with all due respect.

The M's are a perennial mediocre team and dysfunctional organization that makes a profit.

I think they believe their fans are stupid. Not all are.

[CharlesRamon]

King County Council Approves $135 Million Public Investment in Safeco Field | Seattle Weekly

[CrazyDonkey]

https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenew...d-13206484.php

A King County Council committee voted on Wednesday to move ahead on a compromise deal to send tax funds to Seattle's Safeco Field.

The amended version would spend $135 to $145 million on Safeco Field -- down from an earlier demand for $180 million -- and leave the rest of the money for affordable housing. None of the funds, collected from the state's lodging tax, would go toward tourism directly.

[phoenixmike11]

King County votes to only give Mariners almost all the stadium renovation money they asked for | Field of Schemes

[CharlesRamon]

glad we got to vote on this.