King County OKs Safeco Field deal that guts tourism promo funding

The Seattle Mariners got most of what they wanted Monday when the King County Council narrowly approved an ordinance earmarking $135 million to help maintain Safeco Field.

The county's tourism industry, however, saw funding for promotion slashed.

King County Councilmembers Claudia Balducci, Reagan Dunn, Kathy Lambert, Joe McDermott and Pete von Reichbauer beat back attempts to re-do the preliminary deal approved earlier this month to divvy up hotel-motel tax revenue among the ballpark, tourism, affordable housing and arts and culture organizations.

The M's are negotiating a new long-term lease with the Public Facilities District, which owns Safeco Field. The plan initially gave the team $185 million, but that was reduced by $50 million.

"We believe ($135 million) is enough to finalize the lease, but we still have some work to do. This is a huge step toward the lease," Mariners General Counsel Fred Rivera said. The lease expires Dec. 31.

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