House Passes Stadium Tax Bill

On first blush, the report from the AP sounds great:

Wash. House approves stadium taxes bill
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The state House wants to extend some taxes that paid for professional sports stadiums in Seattle.

But if you read the rest of the article ... well, not so much.

The account is not supposed to be source for a new NBA arena or Husky Stadium.

Essentially, the House has passed a bill that would extend the Safeco and Qwest Field taxes that are supposed to expire when the stadium debts are retired. However, the money would be used for arts programs, housing, and so forth, but NOT, again, NOT, for a revamped KeyArena or Husky Stadium.

It's still possible that the Senate could amend the bill to include the wording they showed us a week or so ago which enables counties to use funds for new arenas, but whether the political climate affords that is anyone's guess.

In other words, this bill hasn't really changed anything, other than to underline that the House members are not willing to put their necks out when it comes to using taxpayer money for new stadiums and arenas.