Tracy Larsen on Baseball | The Seattle Mariners | 'Show us the money'? Gimme a break

'Show us the money'? Gimme a break
By Tracy Larsen, for Seattle Insider
Originally published by Cox Interactive Media, June 1999

If the powers that be in MarinersLand would have been smart (not a consistent trait with them, let's be honest), they could have done one simple thing before coming to call this week for more money to finish our beautiful but increasingly expensive new ballpark, one simple thing that would have bettered their chances of success because it would have made the medicine go down smoother: field a formidable, playoff-contending starting rotation. Throw in a stronger bullpen for good measure to show a real commitment to this team's playoff future and I believe, somewhat begrudgingly, that they might have written their own ticket.

But neither of those things happened, so I say, let them eat every single cent in cost overruns. Let them scream to the courts that it's in King County's original deal with them (which it isn't) that the county, or the taxpayers or whomever (just not them) are legally obligated to pay the extra money. Let them throw a temper tantrum on the evening news, for all the good it may do them. I, for one, won't fall for John Ellis' tears again.

We're not naive, of course. That the cost of the ballpark has increased isn't exactly a surprise. Anyone who's ever had work done on their two-bedroom rambler knows that it's easy to exceed your original budget when simply remodeling, let alone when you're building a room from scratch which seats nearly 50,000 with a high-tech sliding ceiling. But $100 million?! Has anyone really taken a good look at that number? A hundred million dollars more is what the Mariners are demanding, for a total of $517 million. Or as Dr. Evil might observe, that's "Half a BIL-lion DOL-lars!"

Alternately, that "extra hundred mill" (M's officials are beginning to sound like Hollywood power brokers) could be used to finance at least 50 million public school lunches; 2500 more police officers (probably half of which we'd use to protect those schools); or - here's an idea! - many more teachers so we have smaller classrooms for a higher standard of learning.

But no. We fought tooth and nail with the teachers in this state for months (they're still fighting) over a 15% pay raise over two years to do a job that averages $38,000 a year, that is once you earn your Master's degree and hence must repay student loans with that underwhelming sum. Just a game in Griffey's season, really, but I digress.

The fact has not been lost on me that it was only after the Mariners 1995 Cinderella season that the political climate was right for the Washington legislature to push through the needed funding for a new field. Were they to have fielded a powerhouse of a starting rotation and/or bullpen before this season began, I believe the fans wouldn't be grousing as much right now. It was the '95 winning team, as well as a seemingly supportive spirit from M's owners, which fueled the fans' willingness to pay for a ballpark in the first place, and I won't deny I was one of them - still am. As a devoted follower of the game (and lover of open-air ballparks), I was happy for the team and hopeful for the future of Seattle baseball when it was announced that the new ballpark was coming. But my excitement was tempered by the uneasy knowledge that that much money could have been spent elsewhere, or at least raised for different causes. Teachers rarely have such a spectacularly winning season with which they can gain such political and public support.

And lest we forget, when the stadium/ballpark issue was put to a public vote, it failed. It was the legislature which found a way of saving the issue and hence, Mariners-related revenue. But there are a great many people in this state who never wanted the ballpark to be built in the first place, and who would be rightly livid if they were told by a relatively tiny group of wealthy people that they must contribute even more toward its completion.

But that aside, politicians rarely give something for nothing. Before the legislature will give the teachers even some of what they want, the lawmakers demand that test scores improve and that the teachers subject themselves to stricter evaluations. In short, they insist that teachers show a measurable return on the taxpayers' investment. That's fair enough.

Would Mariners owners provide us with that sort of guarantee of return on our investment? Would they implement a standard of progress which the team must adhere to in order that they receive the remaining funds? Of course not. "It is a game, after all," is what we would hear if we dared ask such a thing. Or at least that's what we hear when it's convenient for them to remind us of that fact. Otherwise, it's shoved down our throats that this is also a business, and for the Mariners to remain competetive we must build them a new stadium, they must raise ticket prices, and they absolutely must have the taxpayers of this state foot most of the bill for their expensive new house, or else they're going to take it to the courts. We've heard this similar "I'm taking my toys and going home!" threat before, in 1996 when Mariners CEO John Ellis conducted a tearful press conference to announce that the team would be up for sale if a solution to their ballpark woes wasn't found.

But it was found, the ballpark is nearly done, and enough is enough. Or at the very least, we've already given the M's 372 million reasons to stop griping. We've paid more than our fair share of the bill; it's time the Mariners' owners stop kicking us under the table to take care of the tip as well.

Pick up your toys, pay your own bills and get on with the business of playing ball.