I heard a report on this on NPR this morning. The reason for the upgrade is Philly's gonna make a play to host an upcoming super bowl. And I guess it's not unlike hosting an Olympics in that they see the large infrastructural investment as worthwhile and necessary even for the eventual return said investment would bring (not that I agree with any of that, but unless Seattle is making a play to host an international event of some sort, I'm not sure the situations are wholly comparable.)

Key Arena -- like everything in downtown Seattle -- is in the worse place imaginable for a regionally accessible facility.

I honestly think the Mariners are missing 30% to 40% of gate sales for being in such a dumpy area without free parking.

Let's get these arenas to someplace normal, like Issaquah, and build some Free Parking lots.

@2 Bailo - You are especially wrong on this topic. A big problem for both the Bennett and Schultz ownership groups with respect to the Key was the ability to monetize parking. The City offered them control of two parking garages at the Center to sweeten the pot.

And for the 'proposed' location that Bennett selected at Emerald Downs, one of the points was that the team would control 100% of the parking within easy walking distance of the facility. And the Bennett ownership group now operates 2 parking facilities that OK City gave to them as part of the Ford Center lease.

Parking is part of the business model, and it is not of the free type.

Well, by golly, if the team gives us their word that no public money is being used, then gosh darn it, we can rest assured that you can bet your bottom dollar that public money IS being used for the renovation. Because a pro sports team's word is as good as... as... what's the exact opposite of gold? Not-gold? Oh, I know. SHiT. As good as shit.

In other news:

The average useful economic life of a professional sports facility may seem ridiculously short, but that is the nature the industry.

What a shitty industry! Let's not invest public treasure in a shitty fucking industry that pisses away capital on gold-plated venues only to toss them aside like so many come-stained rags. Ever hear of the idea that public infrastructure is something you bequeath to future generations? Not something you buy all over again ten years later. What, you spend 40 years in the adult labor force and spend your tax dollars buying the millionaires a new stadium four times in your career?

I wonder if that's why Wall Street wouldn't give Hansen the $200 million he needed to close his deal. Piss poor useful life should go right at the top of the list of reasons why pro sports venues are a losing investment.

@2 You are a fount of never-ending bullshit. Few major league stadia and arenas offer free parking.

Mariners aren't drawing a crowd because they produce a crappy product. Seahawks play right next door and sell out.

Hey, renovate every year if you want to. Four times a year if you like. But the person who wants to re-build and renovate should be the person who will profit most from the facility, and that isn't the city or its taxpayers.

#5

Seahawks are fed by the fast and comfortable Sounder trains available for each game. They have free or super cheap parking at each of the station lots from Kent to Puyallup and all trains are fully packed.

@7 - News flash, Bailo. Most Seahawks home games are played on a Sunday. How much does on street parking cost in Seattle on Sunday?

Or does this really have anything to do with the cost of parking at all? Please show your work.

#8

Let me guess how many sports events you attend -- Seahawks, Mariners, Sounders -- during the year.

MMmmmmm......I guess........none!

And the point is that yes, people will come out to see what they perceive as a good team, with a chance of making the playoffs and fill a stadium no matter where it is.

But I am considering the average year, or even the bad year. For a small market town like Seattle you can't expect to have championship play all the time. Then you dog paddle. You try to stay afloat with promotions, and special events and mostly having a stadium that is an attraction in and of itself. And that also means appealing to the well off suburbs and families with kids who want to drive in and buy 4 or 6 o 8 tickets if its easy to get to and in a safe area and hopefully climate controlled to some degree and accommodating to small children.

Having to pay $15 to park on gravel strip near a train tracks and then walk 8 blocks through a seedy warehouse district at night filled with drunks does not fit the bill.

I completely agree with #2 actually. There's no reason to have a sports stadium in the middle of the city when it's for the use of suburbanites. Stadiums should be built in Marysville, Issaquah, or Bothell. Stadiums are built in the city now only to benefit luxury ticketholders who run banks and investment firms, at the expense of people living in the city (cars, pollution, violence, cultural depression, and dollars).

There is nothing worse than going to a stadium out in the middle of nowhere, with nothing else going on there and no decent public transportation options. The reason I like going to Mariners games despite their horrible product is that it is right in the middle of the city, I can hit a bar before or after, or just not have to make a total day out of it since I'm in the city anyway, and I can easily take a bus or train there.

Really Goldy? If the public invested in anything else: bridges, roads, transist systems, and was told that the life expectency was merely 10 years before major rennovations were required, they would tell the city county and state to get fucked. Would you buy a brand new house (not a fixer) if this was the case, major rennovations necessary in 10 years? Only a dumbass would... But a sports facility? It isn't normal Goldy; you are just trying to normalize what is actually ridiculous.

@2 Given up on the Tacoma Dome?