The Seattle Mariners announced that they’ve signed a 25-year lease extension at Safeco Field with the Public Facilities district. This lease will keep them in Seattle through 2043 and potentially 2049.

This extension comes as the team is nearing the end of its current lease at the Safe. It’s extremely similar to the current lease, except Safeco will no longer be exempt from the admission tax.

“Taxes collected on admissions and parking for ballpark events — An estimated $175 million will be generated from taxes collected on parking and tickets sold for Safeco Field events. The Mariners will direct these revenues to the PFD for contribution to the CapEx Fund”

It’s not surprising to see the exemption to the tax expire on the new lease. And it’s smart that that the PFD will be using this funds to help improve the area around the stadium.

Another thing, that caught my eye, was the fact that the Mariners will include revenue sharing with the PFD on ticket sales. Money that the district earns from the stadium will go towards that same neighborhood improvement fund.

The Mariners will continue to be responsible for day-to-day maintenance and any capital improvements to the Stadium.

Chairman John Stanton first hinted that this news would be coming down the pike on opening day when he was on with 710 ESPN’s Danny, Dave, and Moore. So it’s good to see the state and the franchise work so quickly to get this deal done.

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