Replace the Safeco with TBD.
Replace the "Safeco" with "TBD." OTTO GREULE JR / GETTY

Well, it's officially the denouement of the Mariners and their lease battle. The woebegone baseball team is officially staying in Seattle for at least 25 more years. Wahoo.

With just over three weeks to go before their current lease expires, the Mariners officially signed a 25-year lease renewal with the Public Facilities District (PFD) to stay at The Ballpark Formerly Known as Safeco Field. This whole thing has been a months-long ordeal. It started when the Mariners stated the terms for the renewal: They would only sign on if King County provided them $185 million for maintenance fees.

The public already paid for the construction of Safeco Field, a move voters rejected during the 1995 King County elections. Despite a rejection on the ballot, construction moved forward and taxpayers bore the cost. Fast forward 23 years: The Mariners want more money. After a couple of tense King County Council (KCC) meetings, they got it. KCC voted to give the Mariners $135 million of taxpayer money. Sure, it wasn't the original number the team had asked for, but it's a sizable amount that will be withdrawn from the hotel-motel tax (or, lodging tax). That money was meant for a variety of things including the arts, affordable housing, and tourism. Instead of an original $100 million guaranteed for tourism, with this concession, the tourism industry will receive just $8 million.

Andrea Reay, president of the Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce told The Stranger back in September that tourism is one of South King County's largest industries.

"Our hands are tied in a lot of ways," Reay said, "The vote went through but we’re scrappy here in South King County. We’re used to doing a lot with very little."

Reay estimated that 5,000 jobs are directly tied to hospitality. Indirectly—the people working at the restaurants people eat in or the hotels people stay at—it’s an even larger amount. That tourism industry in South King County contributes $75.4 million to the economy, according to Reay.

"We have a large population that is living at or below the poverty line and we are paying into this fund for the lodging tax and yet that money is not proportionally coming back to be reinvested in our community," Reay said.

The KCC voted 5-4 to give the Mariners the $135 million. The vote was contentious. One staffer referred to Councilmembers Claudia Balducci's and Joe McDermott's unwavering support of the funding as them having "sold their souls to the devil," according to text messages obtained by KING5. The PFD voted 7-0 yesterday to approve the Mariners' lease.

If you weren't tuned into this circus, lucky you. If you were, it's over. You can rest. The battle was fought and the battle, at least for the taxpayer, was lost. The next step is who will take over the naming rights for the ballpark. Rumor has it that it will be T-Mobile. Should we take bets?