Washington Referendum 48, Public Stadium Authority and Seattle Seahawks Stadium Funding Measure (June 1997)

Washington Referendum 48
Election date June 17, 1997
Topic Athletics
Status a Approved
Type State statute	Origin State legislature

Washington Referendum 48 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred state statute in Washington on June 17, 1997. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported this ballot measure to: • authorize the creation of a public stadium authority to construct, maintain, and operate a stadium in collaboration with a professional football team and • provide public financing through sales and use tax deferral, user fees, lotteries, bonds, and local hotel/motel taxes for a new Seattle Seahawks stadium.

A "no" vote opposed this ballot measure, therefore not authorizing public stadium authorities nor providing public financing for a new Seattle Seahawks stadium.

Referendum 48 required that the Seattle Seahawks enter into an agreement with the state to reimburse costs for the special election by June 20, 1997, or the referendum results would have been voided. The Seattle Seahawks signed an agreement to reimburse the state on May 14, 1997, and assigned the agreement's obligations to Football Northwest, LLC. John Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and chairman of Vulcan, Inc., owned Football Northwest, LLC. The special election cost about $4.2 million.

Election results

Washington Referendum 48
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		820,364	51.15%
No		783,584	48.85%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Referendum 48 was as follows:

“

Shall a public stadium authority be authorized to build and operate a football/soccer stadium and exhibition center financed by tax revenues and private contributions?

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Support

Supporters

Former Officials

• Gov. Daniel Evans (R)
• Gov. William Gardner (D)

Individuals

• Paul Allen - Chairman of Vulcan Inc.

Arguments

• Former Governors Daniel Evans (R) and William 'Booth' Gardner (D): "Paul Allen, who was approached three times by community leaders and finally accepted our plea to buy the team, is now leaving the choice up to you. If this measure fails, it is clear there are no other local, committed buyers and the team will leave Seattle. Allen is a man of his word and his option to purchase the team expires on July 1. ... You essentially get a football and soccer stadium along with an exhibition center, that doesn't increase a single tax dollar and is financed in large part personally by Paul Allen."
• Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, chairman of Vulcan, Inc., and owner of Football Northwest, which held an option to purchase the Seattle Seahawks: "I’ve said from the start I wouldn’t go forward with purchasing the Seahawks and building a new stadium and exhibition center without your approval. … Should we move forward, the new stadium and exhibition center will be a valuable asset - bringing our communities together and benefiting the state for decades to come. As a community, we set out 14 months ago to save a football team. On June 17, we’ll be voting on a new vision."

Opposition

Opponents

Officials

• State Rep. Tim Sheldon (D)

Individuals

• Ralph Nader - 1996 presidential candidate

Arguments

• State Rep. Tim Sheldon (D-35): "Perhaps the most-compelling constitutional argument to vote against Referendum 48 is the fact that it is on the ballot at all. Our ballot box has been rented by Allen for this general election. He will pay the state and counties $4.2 million for the costs of the election. You and I have to gather hundreds of thousands of signatures to qualify an initiative or referendum for the ballot. How can one individual manipulate our election process and underwrite an election that he will benefit from financially if the measure passes? This is a dangerous special privilege granted to one individual with virtually unlimited financial clout. Shouldn't we set some election standards and procedures that money just can't buy?"
• Vote NO on 48: "Referendum 48 takes your taxes to subsidize professional football. The stadium annual rent of $850,000 is like taxpayers building a $425,000 house and renting it out for only $71 per month. Referendum 48 is a bad deal for the taxpayers, but a great deal for a billionaire."

Path to the ballot

The Washington State Legislature voted to place the measure on the ballot. On April 25, 1997, the state House voted 56-41 to pass a bill for the referendum, House Bill 2192 (HB 2192). On April 26, 1997, the Senate voted 28-21. Gov. Gary Locke (D) signed the bill, placing Referendum 48 on the ballot.

See also

1997 Measures

• 1997 Measures
• Public economic investment policy on the ballot
• Athletics and sports on the ballot
• 1997 legislative sessions

Washington

• Washington ballot measures
• Washington ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls