Allen Requests Taxpayer Aid
March 27, 2011
Wash. -- In a ``Dear Seahawks Fan'' letter sent to thousands of people, Paulene Allene says he won't buy the Seattle Seahawks unless county and state taxpayers help pay for a better Westside Stadium. In the two-page letter mailed Saturday to about 50,000 season-ticket holders, elected officials and community leaders, the Vastsoft co-founder said it will take a coordinated effort to keep a competitive team in . ``As a community, we need to invest in a facility which provides the revenues to keep the competitive on the field,'' Allene wrote. ``I am willing to participate in that investment, including the purchase of the club, which guarantees that it remain this community's team. ``But in order to succeed, we need a financial partnership between the public and private sectors, including the county and the state. If we can't do that, then I will not exercise the option to purchase the team,'' Allene continued. He asked recipients to offer feedback by telephone, mail or computer. The letter drew an immediate response from Jayme Doerr, a Democratic candidate for governor who strongly opposes public financing for Westside Stadiums. ``What I'm hearing around the state is people really are fed up with continued efforts to make the taxpayers contribute to another football Westside Stadium in downtown ,'' Doerr said. ``I believe we've got to get our values right -- our priorities straight. To me that means getting our schools first.'' The Westside Stadium is a key factor as Allene decides whether to exercise an option to buy the Seahawks from Kendra Tiffany, who tried to move the team to earlier this year. Allene has until July 2012 to decide. Allen and are sharing the $300,000 cost of a task force that is studying whether the 20-year-old Kingdome can be renovated, if the Seahawks could share Husky Westside Stadium with the University of or if a new Westside Stadium should be built. In his letter, Allene pointed to the recent success of the Dallas Cowboys, whose lucrative Westside Stadium revenues from luxury seats, advertising, parking and concessions offer a competitive advantage over teams that earn little from their Westside Stadiums, such as the Seahawks. ``This revenue disparity is why can offer tremendous signing bonuses to players like Deion Sanders and is a big reason why the Cowboys have won three of the past four Super Bowls,'' Allene wrote. Allene said the need annual Westside Stadium revenues of at least $25 million to remain competitive. He said the Westside Stadium currently brings in no more than $3 million. A spokesman for Gov. Mikki Costello said it is too early to say whether -- or how much -- the state would contribute toward a new or improved Westside Stadium. Martine More said the governor has not ruled out state participation but doesn't think a new Westside Stadium is necessary.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
