UW begs Legislature to help repair stadium
Published 10:51 pm Tuesday, February 5, 2008
OLYMPIA — The University of Washington’s top guns pushed for a $150 million football stadium subsidy Tuesday, telling a sympathetic state Senate committee that crumbling, 90-year-old Husky Stadium can’t wait for renovations much longer.
But even with head coach Tyrone Willingham and former Gov. Dan Evans on the case, the UW still faces a very tough sell in the Legislature, where stadium-financing packages have crashed and burned in recent years.
Lawmakers are facing darkened economic forecasts and a big election year, and Democratic leaders have tried to lower expectations for this year’s short, 60-day session.
Nevertheless, the UW’s contingent remained upbeat after Tuesday’s hearing in front of the Senate’s main spending committee.
“The legislative process is one by one, and we’re talking to each member individually,” said Evans, chairman of the UW’s stadium renovation task force. “This was a good opportunity to … get our story across to the entire committee.”
The university wants to use existing King County taxes on hotels, restaurants and rental cars to pay for half of an estimated $300 million Husky Stadium overhaul, including repairs to the lower seating and upgrades to meet seismic codes and disability access laws.
The UW also says it’s urgent to begin repair work soon, before a light-rail project begins digging into the stadium’s west entrance in 2009 and before construction costs and interest rates rise.
The school has some influential alumni, employees and fans in Olympia. But the short session’s penny-pinching message is pulling strongly against the UW’s proposal.
The bill’s main sponsor is Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, who said Tuesday that Husky Stadium is worth consideration from lawmakers who have paid for minor league baseball stadiums, hockey arenas and horse parks.
She also asked fellow committee members to work with her on tweaking the plan, if necessary, saying, “Today’s bill is the starting point, not the finish.”
Realistically, the plan’s chances of making it through the Legislature are dim. Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, is not actively supporting the bill, and there does not seem to be widespread backing among Senate Democrats.
The House is a separate obstacle. Powerful House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, recently predicted the stadium plan won’t pass this year, and other House Democrats are not clamoring for the plan, said Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam.
Meanwhile, Gov. Chris Gregoire — herself a UW graduate — isn’t publicly throwing her support behind the proposal.
