Washington Treasurer rips NASCAR plan
Murphy says state lawmakers need only look at the financial bottom line from Qwest Field to see how the state's last "public-private partnership" with a professional sports team turned out.
The state will pay about $600 million over 25 years to pay off $300 million it borrowed to build the stadium, Murphy said. The debt is being repaid with a mix of King County taxes and state lottery money approved by a public vote in 1997 — sources that brought in more than $16 million last year.
The Seahawks will pay just $25 million in rent over 25 years, while receiving virtually all of the ticket, parking and concessions revenue from the stadium, Murphy said. Team owner Paul Allen contributed $130 million to the stadium's construction.
"We might as well dispense with calling these things public-private partnerships, because they really aren't," Murphy told the House Finance Committee on Tuesday.
In an interview Wednesday, Murphy was even more blunt in describing the proposed NASCAR and Sonics plans: "The private side gets rich. The public side gets screwed." Seattle Times