Behring straits

Sporting News, The, March 25, 1996 by Paul Attner

"You would have thought all this would have hurt us in the offseason with free agents," Erickson says. "But so far, I haven't seen any real effect. It's unsettling for a lot of the coaches and staff because we like the area we are in and some are reluctant to move. But free agency still comes down the majority of the time to money. If we bid the right amount for what we want, we'll get it."

The Seahawks re-signed running back Chris Warren, their most important offseason project. Receiver Brian Blades, who has his own legal problems, remains unsigned. Like many NFL teams, the Seahawks aren't getting better or worse in the offseason.

Erickson produced an 8-8 rookie season to break a stretch of four consecutive losing records, but attendance continued to decline. The Seahawks used to sell out every game, but in 1995 they filled the stadium only in the finale against the Raiders. The average attendance (45,547) was a franchise low. At their peak, the team had a season-ticket waiting list of more than 30,000. Revenues remain in a slump. Seahawks merchandise has ranked in the bottom third of the league the past four seasons. But the Seahawks played well the last month to offer some encouragement for the future, at least on the field.

But the city made a bad mistake. It chose to help build a new outdoor, baseball-only facility for the Mariners, who had threatened to leave, and rehabilitate the Sonics' basketball arena while not approving a plan to take care of the Seahawks and the Kingdome. Cleveland, remember, likewise took care of baseball and basketball, leaving Modell wondering why he didn't get a share of the money pie.

Behring and the city agree the Kingdome, where $50 million was spent to stop tiles from falling from the roof, needs work. Its ability to withstand quakes can be improved and its facilities should be upgraded to make it competitive with more modern versions. The need list is familiar: more suites, more concession stands, more toilets, more of everything. Allen already has told city officials he would want the Seahawks' lease reworked before buying the team. The club needs more revenue, period. Last year, the Seahawks realized $7 million in gross revenue while the Cowboys pulled in $40 million.

Behring has called for $150 million in dome improvements, plus $90 million in earthquake work. The politicians think $15 million is adequate to upgrade the earthquake standards and $100 million should take care of the rest of the dome.

But the experiences in Cleveland and Seattle should serve as a red flag for other cities. Like it or not, they can't cater to one pro team while doing less for another in the same town. There is too much pressure on owners to stay up with their peers in terms of modern facilities. If they think they are being slighted, they can find plenty of suitors elsewhere who are willing to treat them better.

Yet, in Behring's case, the suitors haven't been exactly enthusiastic. Politicians in southern California haven't jumped on the Seahawks' bandwagon, and potential stadium partners have been restrained, in part because of the legal problems in Seattle. It's not as if the L.A. region has been in mourning since the Raiders and Rams departed. The area seems to have survived nicely without pro football and some cynics have predicted that Behring might play before a lot of empty seats if he does indeed set up permanent shop in Mickey's land. (And not even that part is working out the way Behring had hoped; last week, Disney pulled out of an agreement to buy part of the Angels, which could put a damper on plans to build a huge sports complex in Anaheim.)